Happy Holidays

We're near the end of 2009. Hopefully this year has been pleasant for everyone, and there's always next year to look forward to. I think this year is an eventful year. From internship in Taiwan during the summer to multiple trips visiting friends and families, from happiness to sorrow, I would never forget the things that happened this year.

2010 also marks my 10 years moving to the U.S. I still kept in touch with some of my friends from elementary school, thanks partly to my parents who constantly reminded me to write to them or contact them when we go back to Taiwan. And I think this connection is really integral if I were to return to Taiwan during my future career. Other than family, it's nice to have someone who went along with you during school or events, to have someone that shares a common event with you. I did not really hang out with classmates during middle school or high school. But that's just me...more family oriented. I did make more acquaintances during college, especially during my internships in Taiwan. I think every people we meet bring us new experiences in life. Even if they might not get along with us, we can still learn something from them.

Have a nice winter, and hope next year brings something new and challenging to us.

Vancouver Winter

I went to Vancouver from December 18 to 21. I had a wonderful time there. To make it short, here are the things we did:

Day 1: Arrived at 2pm. Judy and Wendy picked Jonathan and me up. Vancouver International Airport is located next to Richmond, which has a lot of Asians. We went to places such as Stanley Park, Canada Place, and Gas Town. and Dinner was at a Japanese fusion restaurant (called Alpha), combining Japanese, American, and even Mexican food. It was interesting, but not the best of its kind.

Overlooking downtown Vancouver

Day 2: The day was reserved for a trip to Victoria. Judy made Jon and me breakfast and Wendy picked us up for Victoria! Before that we had to wait for the ferry: New experience, but I would do it only if I have a lot of time on my hands. The ferry trip from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay took 90 minutes, but it went by so fast since we were having fun outside on the deck and inside having lunch. Oh, and Tsawwassen sounds like 茶碗蒸...haha.


The BC Ferry to Victoria

At Victoria, we went to look at the Craigdarroch Castle built by Robert Dunsmuir, a Scottish immigrant who got rich from Vancouver Island coal. I can't say anything more about that since I didn't want to read all the pamphlet info. $8 needed to go in so instead we stayed outside while Jonathan analyzed different ways to get to the top of the building...I think he played Assasins Creed too much. The Parliament building was the next destination. With Christmas lights and decorations surrouding the corners of buildings over there, it really looked like a holiday season. Very romantic indeed. Furthermore, we went to Butchart Gardens to view more christmas lights. So that ends the Victoria trip and we took the 9pm ferry back to Vancouver, with me having a major sugar coma from all the white center chocolates I had while waiting for the ferry.

Butchart Gardens (looks like a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

Day 3: I woke up at 8:30am and admire the beautiful morning... Actually it was raining but still there's a sense of serenity in Judy's house. I could hear every rain drop that flickered down the roof. Maybe because it is located in residential areas, but I live in a residential area in Millbrae and I still hear noises all the time. Jon and Judy woke up later and we went to 鴻星海鮮酒家 (Red Star Seafood Restaurant) for Dim Sum. We met up with Sam at the restaurant and he joined us for the rest of our time in Vancouver. After lunch we were off to Grouse Mountain, the peak of Vancouver. I was quite excited to see some snow. The rain and fog made the experience even more exciting. We also went to "Santa's Cabin" for a photo session with Santa...wait did we get that photo at all??...Anyways after a hot apple cider from the girls and a free screening of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," we went on the gondola and came back down Grouse. Dinner was at a 茶餐廳...I should have ordered the combination because it looked pretty good. We had a pleasant chat at the restaurant about news, trends, relationships, schools, life styles in Canada, and most importantly, Canadian girls!

me, Judy, Wendy, Jonathan, Sam


Grouse Mountain with Santa's Cabin and flooded ice rink

Japadogs...need I say more? Get it if you visit Vancouver. It is on the corner of Burrard and Smithe St. and a new place will open soon in 2010. It will destroy any pre-existing thought you have about hotdogs. Ok that's an exaggeration, but it did provide a novel side of hotdog presentation and taste. The two flavors we tried (beef terimayo and pork okonomi I think) were pretty strong, but it tasted so good each bite I had felt like there was a party in my mouth and everyone was invited.

Japadog stand

Karaoke at Judy's house. My first experience karaokeing at a friend's house in North America haha. Jonathan, Wendy, and Sam clearly practiced a lot. Judy did not sing at all (singing without a microphone doesn't count). That went on until about 4am.

Day 4: Sam brought 鹽酥雞, 甜不辣, and 奶茶. Those tasted most like the ones in Taiwan! We decided to let Wendy take a break from driving us around so we just stayed at Judy's house. The sun came up in the afternoon so Sam, Judy, Jonathan, and I took a walk down the country side to enjoy nature in the midst of urban life. That walk down the old railway came almost out of a painting: Straight rail road extending into the distance with maple trees growing on either side. The cold atmosphere, sunset, and red-brownish maple leaves on the ground formed a terrific end to our trip.

A taste of warm winter fills one's heart

Four days is not enough to absorb everything any city could offer. But I think it is sufficient to experience the beautiful scenery, absorb the colorful weather, observe the different cultures, and feel the zeal of the local people. I know I have.

Thanks Judy and your parents for letting me stay at your house. Thanks Wendy for driving for four days straight. Thanks Sam for driving and hanging out with us. Have a happy holiday and happy new year.

老狗

My sister and brother-in-law bought a Shih-Tzu puppy eleven years ago. It is the cutest thing ever. "Blue" he is called. He has been through a lot of places: Millbrae, Daly City, Cupertino, Texas (Round Rock), and now he's back in Millbrae with us!





Dog: most loyal friend a human could have.

Leonid Returns

The Leonid meteor shower. It arrives every year around this time, and this year's would be more intense than that of other years. I decided to look for some meteor showers. I figured it would be a pretty nice break from studying. So I walked out of my apartment and tried looking for some place devoid of light pollution. This is a hard task especially in Westwood where UCLA is located. Everywhere I went there was light shining on my face. It felt like I just finished a play.

So the first place I went was the track field at 11pm. The flood lights turn off after 10pm so it was a fairly nice place to look at the sky even though street and building lights were still visible. I lied down on the bleachers and looked up at the moonless sky. Orion's belt was there, some other constellations I forgot the name of were visible, and so was mars! The faint flickering yellowish dot...Sometimes I wonder if somewhere in the universe other beings were doing the same thing, lying down and watching the night sky. Of course they might be looking at the sky for potential planets to conquer, but I digress.

12am - Anyways onto the next spot: the roof. I went up to a neighboring apartment's roof. So I was technically on the fourth floor. It is a much better place to hunt for shooting stars. I should have gotten some chairs because my neck was starting to hurt. I left after 15 minutes and no sign of paint brush fleeting through the sky.

In the end, I think I saw two meteors. It might have been my imagination but I clearly saw them flew past the sky and disappeared...and no they weren't airplanes :). The whole trip took longer than I thought, but this is how it's supposed to be, random yet engaging. You need to be patient for it. It reminds me of the time we went to Alishan (阿里山) to view the Leonid meteor shower. I can't believe it has been 11 years. My family went with two other families who are good friends with us. We brought snacks, chairs, blankets, flashlights, and binoculars. Since we were in the mountains, light wasn't a problem. And we end up seeing more than 20 meteors after 4 or 5 different locations. Some burnt up really fast, but others created a bright mark even after it disappeared.

Star and meteor gazing requires patience and some luck. The longer you stay focused, the more chance of actually seeing something and getting a result (this is true not only for star gazing by the way). It was a nice adventure through the night looking up in space, witnessing the phenomenon that is rare to obtain.

Yellow Sponges

Burger King is pretty good at doing this. First they had the Indiana Jones toys last year, and then they have this Spongebob Squarepants toys this year. I have to get all of them right? So yes, I did collect all 8 Indiana Jones toys last year. And after spending 8 meals fattening myself with double cheeseburgers, fries, and small drinks, I got all 8 Spongebob figures.

Here's all eight of the characters, along with the acutal figures. I do not plan on selling them so I open the cases and wrappings.



The boxes also have a little surprise. It's a puzzle of a Spongebob picture...anything to get people like me to collect them all huh. I always fall into their trap! (raise fists)



By the way, the end result is usually less satisfying than when we're anticipating it. In this case it's the puzzle gimmick. The placement of the image just seems (tu)...

The material for the toys are pretty good. It's not the usual light-weight plastic. Instead this has a sturdy feel to it. I'm not a big fan of the cartoon, but these figures are cute and the theme (truth or square) is a neat idea. All the characters have some sort of rectangular shapes. This is it for Spongebob Squarepants, or 海綿寶寶 as they call it in Taiwan.

Hey maybe I'll put the BK Indiana Jones toys up too when I go home.

October 8, 2009

A somber way to start the day...

At least I'm going home for the weekend...first time going home with mixed feelings.

A cold San Francisco weekend...

A goodbye to a friend.

Attitude

Attitude is one of the integral topics in the discussion of culture and identity. If one is open to cultures of foreign countries, he or she may identify with those countries better. With the current stage of global culture and media, we are constantly bombarded with information about all facets of life and cultures of the world. One tipping point between those who are able to obtain their identity and those who are fickle about it is their attitudes toward those information.

From participating Taiwan Tech Trek (internship) for two summers, I have realized that a lot of second generation overseas Taiwanese are very reluctant in accepting Taiwanese culture, especially second generation Taiwanese Americans! Sometimes they would critique the differences between the two countries. I heard a group of people complaining about the differences in direction of travel between railroads and normal roads in Taiwan. Others would act in ways that may seem appropriate to America but less so in Taiwan, such as the dormitory incident in Taipei. But of course if they had been paying attention to Taiwan history, they would have known that most rail roads were built by the Japanese, and to preserve that section of history the government maintained the left-hand traffic system for railroads. If they pay more attention to the culture, they would have known that most Taiwanese school systems are more conservative. But after all, one can only learn so much about another country right? Maybe it’s the pride of the American people, or maybe it’s the parents who did not promote their Asian culture to their children. Taiwanese Americans need to learn more about their background! And for those who are eager to learn about other cultures, I congratulate you.

I like to think that I am very台. I don’t think that’s anything wrong. But I’m not biased against American cultures either (though it's hard to say what exactly is American culture)…well sometimes I’m not biased…However, when I go back to Taiwan, a lot of people said I look ABT (Amerian-born Taiwanese). Now how does that work? I don’t pretend to have accents or purposely get American style haircuts. I just do whatever I think suits me...like Khaki pants and polo shirt... And whatever others think, it is their business; I do not stress to blend-in. People also do not need to blend in to where they are living (though they still need to obey the laws of course). They don't need to hide behind their masks. Once they come to terms with who they are, the paths they choose will not be determined by materialistic views but by optimistic attitudes.

I think to truly be a well educated and globalized individual, we have to appreciate other cultures as well as our own. What is our own culture? Well it’s up to all of us to decide.

水調歌頭

By: 蘇東坡

明月幾時有，把酒問青天。
不知天上宮闕，今夕是何年。
我欲乘風歸去，又恐瓊樓玉宇，高處不勝寒。
起舞弄清影，何似在人間。
轉朱閣，低綺戶，照無眠。
不應有恨，何事長向別時圓。
人有悲歡離合，月有陰晴圓缺，此事古難全。
但願人長久，千里共嬋娟。

很多人說當我們孤單思家時會望月亮尋找安撫, 古代的詩人也經常以月亮當成思念的主題. 在這首詩裡含義很豐富, 尤其是最後兩行: 人都會有悲哀、歡樂、離別、聚合, 月亮也有陰、晴、圓、缺, 而這些事從以前就難以達到完美. 只是希望大家能長壽平安, 雖然相聚千里, 也能共同欣賞那輪明月.

這首詩是蘇東坡在中秋夜喝酒後懷念他弟弟時所寫的, 可是內容大家一定曾經感受到. 下次賞月時念一下這首詩吧 啊哈!

(10/3/2009 10:21pm 中秋)

吃月餅喝杯茶

坐在陽台上賞月
好享受~
少了烤肉看煙火...
不過聽說台灣有颱風芭瑪來襲,
如果在那裡什麼也做不到, 真可惜

爸爸寄給我三顆月餅, 一下填進肚子裡.


中秋節快樂!

以下是去年中秋節的照片, 在美國的家過的.

舉頭望明月, 低頭吃月餅 哈哈!

Here We Go

First day of school for my senior year in college...
I hope everything goes well, and I'll study as hard as ever. This quarter I'll be taking five classes so I will be extra busy. With graduate school application and tests, I might not be posting as much entries...but anyways it's a good way for me to practice writing skills.

Wish all the best to my family, especially to dear Reynold (brother-in-law). I know you will get past this hard stage. 加油!!早日康復!!

蠟筆小新 (クレヨンしんちゃん)

第一次看到這本漫畫是國小一年級時 (1995年), 好像是看了第四集. 當時一看完就愛上了這個爆笑漫畫, 決定把一到三集也買下. 之後我也會時時到書店裡看有沒有新出書. 2000年到美國之後, 我也繼續收集, 每當一回台灣時一定去我常去的台南的展華書局報到, 問有沒有新的一集「蠟筆小新」.這本漫畫伴我一起成長, 也是我唯一有在收集的漫畫.

「蠟筆小新」把日常生活中遇到的事都描述了出來, 並以帶點諷刺的角度來解釋, 加一些搞笑的故事, 帶來給我們無比的歡喜. 小新愛搞笑又有點黃, 可是他也有懂事貼心的一面.小時候只是覺得小新舉動有趣, 說話又獨特無理, 可是最近一再回味前幾集, 發現在表面笑笑當中藏著一些諷刺: 社會對小孩的觀點, 小孩對社會的觀點, 上班族的生活, 婦女的形象, 以及各國文化的差別等等.

作者臼井儀人把這些觀念以及人物的情緒, 一個一個的畫到那些簡單的方形格子裡. 然而我們讀者所學的不是如何學壞, 而是如何在任何情況下以樂觀堅強的態度像小新一樣度過難關, 以客觀的方法面向社會.

臼井老師不幸身亡, 讓我們少了一個成長當中的夥伴. 今年八月底買的「蠟筆小新」49集也是他完成的最後一集. 以後如果有人持續下去, 應該也會感覺不一樣啦. 謝謝小新給我一個有趣又溫馨的童年回憶.

May you rest in peace!

Number 4

One more year of college to go! I went down to UCLA with my parents yesterday, and brought a whole bedframe down, but luckily we are going to throw that heavy bed frame away when I'm done next year.

Every year my dad drove from San Francisco to LA to move my living equipments into the dorm, and drove again to pick those stuff up back to SF. The plan is: we rent the minivan at 11pm the previous day, woke up at 3am for a 7 hour drive to LA, move my stuff in, leave at around 3pm, and arrive at 10pm in time to return the car within a day. This schedule happens at September (beginning of school) and June (end of school)

Mom usually makes some sort of snack so we could have something to eat during the drive. While dad is driving she kept on stuffing food into dad's mouth...it was hilarious. She made sushi rolls this time. Yummy~
Hopefully I gather the courage to drive next time...14 hour drive is really stressful.

感謝爸爸媽媽!!

Nostalgia

Just watched Toy Story with my niece this afternoon. I have to say, after 14 years I still think it is a solid movie. This current viewing evoked similar emotions and laughters that I had felt when I was 7 years old. Couldn't believe now that a computer graphic animation movie would have nostalgia factor...after all, it seemed like just not long ago that I went to the theaters for it.

But the nostalgia factor seems to be a positive one. You know how sometimes when you haven't seen something or heard something for a long time, and you experience them again...the end result wouldn't be as well as you imagined it to be? Well this isn't one of them...maybe because this doesn't rely on pop culture references, one-trick-ponies, or jokes, but the most important aspect is that it has a strong story. Take our situation for example. When my 3-year-old niece watches Toy Story, she reacts to what the screen is showing. And while she might not understand what Buzz or Woody are talking about, she knows what and why they are doing. Story propels the characters' actions. A good story could be told with actions instead of words, and this is also apparent in the Pixar short films. After going to Pixar 20 Years of Animation Exhibit in Taipei, Taiwan, I could understand the efforts that went into creating unique and compelling stories (and the world surrounding them) for every one of their films.

The only thing that I felt different was the vast improvements Pixar has since Toy Story: level of detail, surface textures, movements of the characters, and much more. Even Toy Story 2 improves a lot from the first one both animation and story. These are changes for the better. Hope that the upcoming Toy Story 3 will have superb graphics and most of all, a good story!

Shelf Life

I still think toys are cool. Just to have a character, object, or piece of memorabilia from fiction is a very accomplishing thing to do.

These are some of the toys I obtained since coming to the United States. I put as much as I can on this tiny shelf, so some of them are still in boxes and bags. The majority of them are in Taiwan.

Most of these are after 2001...only Buzz Lightyear and Doraemon are before I came to the US.

The table is a bit messy because I just transported the whole thing from my room to the kitchen area (my room is now the baby room for my nephew)

I think I can make Toy Story 4, 5, and 6 with these now...

Enjoy!

玩伴

"Play with me! 舅舅 Let's play! Again! Again," my niece, Tera, yelled.

These phrases and more are the ones I hear this past week. My second sister, brother-in-law, and their children moved back from Texas to California during late August, so they're living at our house. When I came back to the states they were already living at our apartment. I haven't seen them in almost two years.

Tera is very demanding and hard to handle. At three years of age she already has a mind and opinion of her own. I need to follow what she said when I play with her. When she wants something, she wants it...to the point which would drive a person cuckoo!!

I am Peter Pan, Hook, kitty, princess, baby... I am a lot of characters. This is what I have to do when I play with her. Sure it was interesting...for the first day! But when she literally begs to play with me every day, it starts to get vapid and annoying. Sometimes I want to leave the house just to get away from her...breathe some fresh air~

It's a wonderful thing to be able to see my niece and nephew, each time seeing them a bit grown up. My first big sister's daughter, Erika, is now almost two years old. When I was babysitting Erika, everything seemed pleasant, but taking care of Tera is indeed a tough tough job @@...I can only imagine how difficult it is for my sister to teach or lecture her.

I think no one can fully appreciate the greatness of our mothers until one has her/his own children.

9 9 9

Happy September 9, 2009...the last single digit repeats for quite a long time, until 2101 or 3001 depends on how you look at it.

Cousins Gathering

<-At Ricky/Pauline's house, with their two children, my big sister, Gary, Grace, Richard, and Jerry...



Every once in a while the cousins from my mom's side of the family (most of them are in California) would get together and have some chat and fun, usually during holidays. Three days ago I went to Ricky's house in South San Francisco for the gathering. Not a lot of my cousins were there, but Jerry was there.

Jerry is the only cousin in the family who goes to military academy. He graduated from West Point last year. This October, he would be sent to Iraq for a year. He said he will be doing computer stuff in Iraq, but wants to go to the front line!

How brave...

He wants to be in the CIA or FBI eventually. I think he can do it.

I don't know what makes him so eager to be in the military and in combat...movies? toy guns? A while ago I was looking at photos of me when I visited him. I was about 6 years of age and he was 9, and we played various toy guns, running around his house using furnitures as obstacles. But I wanted the games to stay games or even simulated situations and not become real life.

However, I think every guy should go through some time in the military, 過著一個有規律的生活. 有些人認為是浪費時間, 可是台灣現在只當兵一年, 以後也變募兵了, 所以我覺得如果跟別人有關係的話當個兩三個月的兵也不錯, 而且不用真正上戰場, 實現一下小時候的夢想

Good luck, Jerry! We all appreciate your courage and your service and dedication to the United States.

Upgrade

People like luxury...well most people do. That's why every type of tranportation has its higher-class seatings for the people who have more $$$. I used to travel back and forth betwen Taiwan and United States at least once a year before graduating from elementary school. In fact I think I have traveled roundtrip for more than 30 times!

Sometimes my family got enough mileage for an upgrade to business class, and that means horray for all of us! Since this year is the 50 year anniversary of China Airlines (中華航空), the mileage required for an upgrade was lowered...so my parents said why not and we're in for Dynasty Class.

Our flight was at 11:30pm on September 2 from Taoyuan International Airport. Since we live in Tainan, we have to travel down to Kaohsiung first and then take an airplane up to Taoyuan. This means two waiting period...and also two chances for VIP lounge...and our dinner problem is solved!

高雄小港機場華航貴賓室: very nice environment, less people so less noise, a little bit short on the variety of food, but overall a very enjoyable place.

桃園機場華航貴賓室: big resting areas, great food including various noodle soups, but did I just entered a 夜市? So many people walking around, taking food, talking on phones....這根本把好氣氛都毀了~

I guess it's better to come here during the morning, when there is no one sitting next to you, sneezing and coughing while going on facebook...and it was an uncomfortable situation during flu season @@

The Dynasty Class seats on the plane was a bit different from what I remembered. I didn't remember I could extend my legs completely without touching the front row before, and I'm sure my legs didn't grow shorter. But it was a change for the better. And yes, I kept taking pictures like crazy. The movie selection menu for our individual TV was outdated because this airplane was an older model, but it didn't prevent my from watching a lot of movies...eh...actually I watched only one movie: Running the Sahara (決戰沙哈拉), which was about three runners (one of them, 林義傑, is from Taiwan) that ran across the Saharan desert from St. Louis, Senegal to Cairo, Egypt in about 100 days.

I sort of felt guilty while watching them struggling to achieve the impossible while I was lying on a comfortable chair drinking apple juice. Their courage and perseverance could be discerned in their actions and I think this shows their character more than anything else. Going back to California means the end of a wonderful summer in Taiwan; it means the start of the ongoing advancement in learning. We need to exert the perseverance like those runners. At the end of the run, they've reach the oceans of Egypt and their reward comes with the sense of achievement and the cold ocean water. Our sense of achievement may have yet to come, but we should work towards it. 任何事都是先苦後甘啦.

這次回到美國後發現以後回台灣遊玩的機會不多了. 以後回台灣可能是找工作的時候了, 不過我也很期待這時刻的來臨.

六年八班

國小畢業後到美國讀書已經有九年了, 在台灣認識的同學也漸漸的往各自的方向升學...

到美國之後我是每年暑假或寒假都匯回台灣, 找一下還有再聯絡的好友, 也順便看著台灣各地流行,美食,娛樂,和觀光的演變. 但城市再怎麼改變,餐館再怎麼更新,親朋好友的感情都永遠不會變, 每次回到台灣跟朋友見面都是一樣歡樂, 只是現在做的事的不是玩玩具槍或電玩, 而是到餐館聊天, 但我們聊的內容除了最近的生活, 另外也都有談到小時候所發生的趣事.

每次回台灣都有以點不好意思邀小學朋友出來見面, 因為怕他們已忘了我了. 這次回台灣也是一樣,才打電話給兩三個朋友. 可是在台灣我的學校朋友也只有到小學而已, 所以更應該要不能失聯.

參加了兩次候鳥計畫讓我能回台灣實習, 每次都有不同的收穫, 認識了不少有趣的朋友, 去了不少地方

日月潭, 大雄....啊不...遠雄海洋公園, 台北淡水, 八里腳踏車, 皮克斯動畫展, 台中(看照片而已), 當然還有台南 我的故鄉.

最遺憾的是沒有機會去到南投的天梯, 而且因為莫拉克颱風的侵襲 讓中南臺灣災情嚴重, 希望受災地區能早一點重建完畢, 另外更要對那些熱心的義工們感激, 讓他們回復正常生活. 祝大家都身心平安.

Greetings

Hello!