Christmas Parties 2007

Identity Theft

Someone was using my debit card yesterday and this morning buying grocery! I encountered identity theft!

Last night, I checked my bank account online and found there was $97.65 unauthorized transaction with Trader Joe's at U-district. This morning, there was another $58.77 unauthorized transaction with Safeway Store at U-district. I went to my bank and filed for a report in the afternoon. In addition, I reported to the Seattle police. My bank advised me that I should check my bank balance every day. This means one more thing I have to do every day besides emails.

West vs. East

I was TAing last quarter. I'm not very good at remembering the names of all my students. Coincidentally, most of the students are Caucasians. The professor who is a Caucasian himself would joke that I couldn't differentiate "the white people".

When I lived in China, all my family and friends are Chinese. I couldn't tell the different ages of non-Chinese. It shouldn't be surprising, as I often heard non-Asians complain that it was hard to tell the age of a Asian.

Even though the East doesn't completely understand the West, the East loves the West, and vice versa. Westerners might see some serious Asian grannies wear T-shirts with English letters such as "Kiss me". Chinese or Japanese might see some very "cool" looking young western with Tattoos in Chinese characters like "壞孩男". If the young fellow wanted to say "bad boy", he got the sequence of Chinese characters wrong unfortunately.

Holiday Seasons

At a free Jazz concert with Sahera, and Alessandro


At a free Jazz concert with Sahera, and Shumei


At a bar after the concert

Summary of November 2007

My November is full of events.

I had neck pain from the end of October to the beginning of November. I had to visit a chiropractor three times to relief my pain.

The second day of November, I lost my wallet. I had to cancel all my credit cards, get new driver license, and replace my student ID.

The second week, I had my wisdom teeth taken out and paid $11 to the person who "found" my wallet to get it back.

The third week, I got a cold thanks to the pain from the dental surgery.

The fourth week, I had my first supervisory committee meeting.

All these are due to the sick crying pig illustrated in my November calender on my desk.

Tennis

Last summer, I developed interested in tennis. I took two tennis courses during the summer. There was also a very small and short romance at the end of the tennis course. It became a nice cute memory every time I play tennis;)

head coach of the national women's volleyball team of the United States

Recently I found out that the head coach of the national women's volleyball team of the United States is Ping Lang.

She is one of the most famous and respected individuals in the history of volleyball. She steered the Chinese team to the first world title at the Third World Cup Volleyball Tournament in 1981, before they swept three more major world titles in the 1982 World Championships, 1984 Olympic Games and 1985 World Cup for four straight wins in five years. According to Wikipedia, her name is immediately recognizable among Chinese over 30. My parents love her, so I have watched her play. I also watched the games of the Chinese national women's team she coached.

I haven't watched American women's volleyball. I guess this time I'll pay attention to the women's volleyball schedule.

My wisdom teeth

It took two dentist visits to have all my wisdom teeth taken out. The first visit was in September. The dentist took two upper wisdom teeth out in less than 30 minutes.

Yesterday afternoon was the second visit. It took the doctor 2 hours to get the lower 2 wisdom teeth out! After the surgery, my jaws were very sore. I couldn't feel my lips and my tongue. My voice became very funny. This morning, I found my face was swollen. My mouth is still in pain. I'll visit the doctor again next Thursday to have the stitches out.

I think it is time for me to take more pain killers again.

Most visited tourist attractions

I went to 20 attractions (listed below) that are out of 50 most visited tourist attractions according to Forbes Traveler. No wonder I always saw so many people and I had to wait in a long line to get into the entrance.

1. Times Square, New York City, NY, USA
2. National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C., USA
7. Fisherman’s Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, CA
9. Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, France
14. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Paris, France
15. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
17. The Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China
18. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
22. Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea
25. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
30. Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY, USA
31. Grand Canyon, Ariz., USA
36. Statue of Liberty, New York, NY, USA
37. The Vatican and its museums, Rome, Italy
39. The Coliseum, Rome, Italy
40. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
41. Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood, CA, USA
42. Empire State Building, New York, NY, USA
45. Palace of Versailles, France
46. Yosemite National Park, CA, USA

However, I wonder how accurate the Forbes Traveler list is. My parents who live in the most populated country in their whole lives complaint to me too many tourists in Beijing when they visited two years ago. Today, one of my schoolmates sent me some pictures (above) showing some beach in China. I guess when all Chinese tourist attractions start to count tourists, few of the 50 listed attractions would be in the list again.^_^.

What a nice suprise!

I was planning to attend a conference to DC next January this afternoon. A person I knew through a friend jumped to my mind. He works in DC. He and I have never met each other in person, however, he called me a few times and we talked on the phone. He planned to visit Seattle last year. He even booked the tickets. He canceled the trip because he was sick the week before his trip. After that, he never called me again.

I thought it might be a good chance to finally meet him in person if I go to DC. When I was thinking about this, I saw him logging onto MSN. I initiated a chat by saying hello to him. After greeting each other, I told him I might go to DC next January for a conference and ask him if he's interested in meeting. He said cool. And then, he said "just for your update", he was married this year and planned to have wedding ceremony next year. I started to smile. He sounded like a person really wants to get married and start a family. I guess he must be very happy he is finally married.

Maybe it is not a good idea to meet him in person.^_^.

Lust, Caution

My dentist appointment was canceled this afternoon due to the confusion by the staff of the dentist office. So I went to see Aug Lee's new movie "Lust, Caution". Somehow, I feel like "Lust, Caution" is similar to Paul Verhoeven's "Black Book", but more tragic and depressing. Yet, I'm not surprised. Just like "A very long engagement" was not made by a Chinese director.

Chicago

I visited Chicago after the ACSP conference from Sunday to Tuesday. I visited my college roommate who I haven't seen for six years. I went on a boat tour and a walking architecture tour on Monday. I also spent a few hours in the art institute of Chicago on Tuesday before I went to the O'Hare airport.

I had a very good time in Chicago. If my neck hadn't bothered me, it would have been prefect. I called my housemate who works in a chiropratic clinic just after I landed Seattle to ask for an appointment.

ACSP 2007, Milwaukee, WI

Except for my neck pain, I had a very good time at the ACSP conference this year. I made new friends and saw old friends. I also met some famous professors in urban planning. Jack Nasar was at my presentation. However, I didn't have time to talk to him after the section. I was sitting next to John Forest in a section. By the way, did I mention I knew his daughter? However, I didn't figure out she was John Forest's daughter until two years after I met her.

What do I like

I like a lot of things. I enjoy doing a lot of things. Even though I haven't found my favorite yet, I have preference of certain things over others. Most of my preference comes from my experience and expectation, which could change. Therefore, my preference could change as well.

Wedding

Burning Man

Burning Man

I'm going to Burning Man this year!!!!

Pearl Anniversary

August 8th is my parents' 30th anniversary.

My dad was my mom's teacher in her medical school. In fact, my dad recruited my mom to the school. They dated for 3 years. They married just right after my mother graduated.

My dad is from Canton area and speaks Cantonese. My mom is from Sichuan province and speaks the Sichuan dialect. The difference between Cantonese and the Sichuan dialect is like the difference between English and German. My dad now speaks both Cantonese and the Sichuan dialect. My mom still doesn't understand Cantonese even though she has lived there for almost two decades.

Due to work, they had to live separately in two cities for 8 years after they married.

Even though my parents did want to divorce once, I have no doubt that my parents are in love with each other. My dad retired a few years earlier than my mom. During this time, my dad did most of the housework, from grocery shopping, cooking, to cleaning. Now both of them are retire. They do grocery shopping together. My dad does the cooking and my mom does the dishes.

Did I tell you that my parents still hold hands when they go out?

Mt. Rainier in Summer

Seattle Aquarium

A Poem

Love's Secret
by William Blake

Never seek to tell thy love,
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind does move
Silently, invisibly.

I told my love, I told my love,
I told her all my heart;
Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears,
Ah! she did depart!

Soon as she was gone from me,
A traveler came by,
Silently, invisibly
He took her with a sigh.

爱的秘密
威廉.布莱克
Translated by Maylord

永远不要向你心爱的人坦明，
能坦明的不是爱情；
看那轻风走动
无声、无形。

我向心爱的人坦明，坦明，
倒出心里的所有，
手脚颤抖、发冷，骇人得惊恐。
哎，她竟抽身而走。

她从我这儿走后不久，
过来一个路人，
无声、无形；
一声叹息，他携她而走。

It was 36 degree Celsius

It was 36 degree Celsius today! It felt like summer! Usually, the summer of Seattle is just warm. I rarely feel hot. Most of the time, I would bring a light jacket with me. However, I even sweat today! I did enjoy the weather today.^_^.

Boulder Lake

Am I getting old?

I have back pain! I couldn't stand still on Thursday! I have to take pain killer pills!

I got the back pain from playing tennis for an hour on Thursday morning. Am I getting old?

Furniture

I have always lived in furnished house. I am not keen on owning furniture. To me, furniture is associated with home. Home is where loved ones are. Even though I have lived in Seattle for 6 years, I refer Seattle as "school". "Home" is always where my parents live. When I talk to my parents on the phone, I'd tell them when I would go home and if I have got back to school from my travels.

However, I have accumulated furniture. Last year, I bought a bookcase and a study chair. I got a floor lamp from a friend. This year, I bought another bookcase and a file cabinet. I also got a desk from another friend. Today, another friend who is leaving Seattle soon has some furniture to sell. I might get a dresser and another floor lamp from her.......

Is Seattle going to become my home?

Traveler's dream

I really envy this guy who gets pay to travel around the world.

You know what I mean when you watch his videos.

My school home page

If you're interested in my research, you can check out my school home page.

Another friend in China told me that he couldn't log onto my blog

When I started blogging, I told my parents about it. They logged onto my blog almost every day.

I sent the link to my friends in China. Some of them checked it out. Some of them said they couldn't log onto my blog.

In March, my parents told me that they couldn't log onto my blog any more. Today, another friend told me that he couldn't log onto my blog.

I think I might have to get a blog from a Chinese company if I want my friends and family in China to read my blog. However, I'm reluctant to do that, as you might know how things would go when you have to manage the same thing at two places.

I got frustrated when I finally got a blog account from a Chinese website. The posts need to be screened before posting.

Solstice Parade in Fremont

Seattle International Film Festival

I don't remember when I started going to SIFF. It might be several years ago. This year I bought six movie tickets.

Gagarin's Grandson--Russia
A talented artist learns that he has a long lost brother living in an orphanage. To his further surprise, not only is he black, he also claims to be the grandson of the famed astronaut Yuri Gagarin. A film about family, friendships and the end of preconceived notions, filled with wise charm and true Russian soul.

It is an interesting story. I liked the movie.

Children of the War--USA
This powerful documentary explores the roles of social causes and government agencies in the rise of the Mara Salvatrucha (also known as MS-13) in the US and Central America. Estimated to have more than 100,000 members, it has the distinction of being the largest and most violent street gang in the world.

The movie was quite depressing.

Bad Faith--France
A Guess Who's Coming for Dinner? for the 21st century. This is a romantic comedy about faith, love and the difficulties combining the two. When Jewish Clara discovers that she is pregnant with her Muslim boyfriend’s baby, they realize that they are going to have do the unthinkable: meet each other’s families.

It was an entertaining movie with a happy ending.

The Planet--Sweden
This highly ambitious Scandinavian production draws on some of the poetic, observational strategies of Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi, allowing us to reflect on patterns and phenomena of human and natural existence from both intimate and sweeping viewpoints. The truths of The Planet, if frankly confronted, will move viewers viscerally and pragmatically to new levels of understanding and action.

One of scholars interviewed in the movie said that the problem of environmental protection is the developed countries. The out-sourced factories with heavy pollutants and low technology went to the developing countries. E-wastes have been shipped to the developing countries. People, then, complaint that environment is getting worse because the developing countries didn't clean up their environment?!

Confession of Pain--Hong Kong
Detectives Bong and Hei were once partners, until a tragedy turned Bong into an alcoholic private eye. When Hei's father-in-law is murdered, Bong's aid is enlisted into an investigation that grows increasingly treacherous. A twisty, thoughtful crime story from the directors of the Infernal Affairs trilogy. A remake is already in the works from Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company.

I enjoyed watching this movie. It is better than "The Departed", yet not as good as "The Infernal Affairs".

Getting Home--China
When his old friend Liu suddenly drops dead, Zhao has no money for a coffin to transport him home in, so he pretends Liu has passed out drunk and gets on the bus with him. A series of gently comic misadventures dogs their homeward odyssey.

I like this movie a lot. It not only travels through different parts of China, but also shows some characteristics of Chinese people. It's a movie worth watching. A similar book from the perspective of American, "China Road", might be worth reading as well.

Movies and Media

About the Movie

I saw the movie "Black Book" tonight. I like the movie a lot. However, my friend who saw the movie with me has a very different idea of the movie. The critics have divided reviews of the movie, and it is not surprising my friend and I are divided on the movie as well.

About the Media

When I was searching for the reviews of the movie, the Google provided the American websites on the top of the search results. It sounds "VERY" logical that Americans are more likely to read American websites. Google and search engines always show the websites from the user's nation at the top in the result.

Quit Mountaineering Class

I quited the mountaineering class last weekend. It was a hard decision. I haven't made any progress on my school work since this quarter. I wish I could manage my time better to do both: school and mountaineering.

I'll take the class again. I have invested so much on my gear. I can't waste them. I can't give up the beautiful mountains either.

File Cabinet

I got a file cabinet from a schoolmate today. I'm quite excited. Finally, I can organize my papers and academic journal articles better.

One of lab-mates said you like file cabinets when you are older. You need to do archiving when you get older.

Evolution of Dance

One of my friends sent me this youtube video clip. It was very funny.

Snow Camping

Last weekend, I went snow camping in Olympic National Park with my mountaineering group "Glacial Monkeys".

We hiked 7 miles to the campground. Each of us had 35-50 pls in the backpack. It was raining, snowing all the time. We were completed wet, inside and out. The next day, when we woke up, our tents were covered with snow. By the time we got back to the parking lot and took off our backpacks, we have never felt better.^_^.


(Courtesy of Jeff--one of Glacial monkeys)

Mountaineering Expense

hard shell rain jacket $216.44
hiking boots $329.45
climbing gear $206.52
sleeping bag $266.92
mountaineering class $300.00
Total $1,319.33


(lookout from Mt. Erie)


(eagle at Mt. Erie)


(Big Chief)


(Ice Axe rescue at Big Chief)

All pictures are provided by Jeff--one of Glacial monkeys.

It was February 10th that I helped her moved to the new place.
This morning, I went to her place again to move her things out.

In February, she hired a mover. We used two vehicles and took us three rounds to finish.
This morning, it only needed one U-haul to move everything. Her sister, her boss, and all her close friends came. However, she is not there......

Rebecca

You were beautiful.
You were slim.
You were a bit shy.

It was three and half years ago I first met you. I just joined Urban Form Lab. You were working in the same office but at Real Estate Research Center. Luc introduced us to each other. You were beautiful with a very sweet smile. At the same time, you were a little bit shy. I knew right away that I would have good time sharing office with you.

We went brunch, lunch, dinner together.
We went clubbing together.
We went drinking together.
We went to see movies together.
We went shopping together.
We went oystering together.
We went on trip together.

We had done a lot of fun things together. We became good friends. I also got to know you better.

You were determined.
You were sometimes nervous.
You were caring.
You were very considerate for others.
You were generous for friends.
You were also generous for strangers, not only because you were a good tipper.
You were the only one who was brave enough to drive with me and believed in my driving.

The last time we did things together was two weeks ago. We ran stairs. I want to climb Mt. Rainier this summer. You joined me for running stairs. However, I was out of breath only after a few minutes. You were walking at head of me, often stopped and waited for me. I started to doubt that if I really should plan to climb Mt. Rainier. Maybe you should do that.

Cherry Blossom on UW Campus

Accents

I just read an article on British accents from BBC News. If I read this article five years ago, I wouldn't appreciate it. Surprisingly, how much I enjoy it now.

If you have read my blog, you might remember that I was asked if I was from China first time I talked to my former landlady on the phone for two minutes. Then I heard people said Americans love accents, more accurately European accents. I thought that was very strange. A few years later, I watched the movie "Love Actually", and found the story about a young British fellow who couldn't attract women in UK became very popular in the US because of his British accent very funny. I thought it could only happen in movies. How could it possible American women be attracted to men just because of their accents? I realized I was wrong very soon. One of my American girl friends told me that she liked this guy from Europe and he had a very cute accent!

Ironically, I started to notice accents last year. I have to admit it is pleasant to listen to BBC. However, I do find it more difficult to understand.

Catch up with the trends in China

Team shopping has been popular in China recently. It seems like there are quite a lot of new things coming out each year in China. Every time I visited my parents in China, I felt like I was "刘姥姥进大观园"--everything was new to me.

Google

I have used "Google" a lot, from Email, blog, calender, photo, maps, search,.... I added one more thing yesterday called "Google Reader". I have to say I like it.

There are only a few other things I use on the Internet not "Google" related, including music (I use Pandora), school email (I still keep my school email), and messenger (I have a MSN account). I can't image the life without "Google" functioning.

I'm not sure if the rule of investment (diversifying investment) should be applied here. For now I'll just "consolidate" for the sake of convenience.

The Relationship between Student Government & Government

I wish I remember the name of the program from NPR last November just right before the general election. It reported a student election in a high school in the US. Student candidates were campaigning for the election by doing fund raising, posting ads,... Everything was just like what the candidates of the senators and the congressmen were doing for their elections. At the end, student candidates with highest campaign money won. Those student candidates who had brilliant ideas and presented majority student interests did not get elected due to lacking of rich friends who were willing to denote money for their campaigns. Their ideas and agenda could not reach out to majority of the students. Surprisingly, this was similar to the results of all the president, senator, and congressman elections in the US.

Isn't it wonderful? We can see the US political system in the student government in the school. However, I didn't think about looking at the Chinese political system in the Chinese student government in the school until recently. I was chatting with my PhD adviser about the school syllabus in the US and China. Some public schools in the states cancel PE class due to lack of funding. I said my high school also canceled PE class for all seniors, however, my schoolmates protested and we got PE class back. Among all the schoolmates who were protesting, none of them were "student leaders" (I mean student president, anyone from the student government). Why they didn't say anything? I realized that those "student leaders" were appointed by the school or the teachers. Appointed by the school or the teachers meant working for the school or the teacher. Thus, it shouldn't be surprising to see that none of "student leaders" take part in the protest.

The different processes of forming government might be one of reasons that representatives in the US "aim" for the public, while their counterparts in China "aim" for the government--the Chinese government is cleverly defined for the public "people's government".

I bet

I bet US will withdraw troops from Afghanistan earlier than from Iraq. I found this piece of news from NYTimes.

Mountaineering

I plan to climb to the top of Mt. Rainier (Elevation gain 3,200 m/10,500 ft) this summer. I signed up a 11-week mountaineering training course and went to the orientation last night. I should come out a training/exercise plan soon.

Following is my hiking resume
2004 Mt.St.Helens (Elevation gain 1 700 m/5,600 ft)
2005, 2006 Mt. Dickerman (Elevation gain 1,200 m/3,900 ft)

Valentine's day

I don't remember when I found him. It might have been a few years. I only remember I found him in a store. He has the characteristics I like. I checked him out. I fell for him. Then he became my "the one and only". He is great. When I need him, he always gives me comfort and satisfaction. He is so sweet.

However, last week, I couldn't find him. I have tried three times! Maybe I should try new things. I did, however, I didn't have the same comfort or satisfaction he gave to me. Yesterday, I went to find him again. He was there. I was soooooo thrill!

That was the story of my "Vanana" yogurt. Last week for three days I went to Trader Joe's, they went out the "Vanana" yogurt each time I went. Yesterday afternoon, I went to the store again, and they have it. I was sooo glad. It is Valentine's day today. I think my story today should be romantic.^_^.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Wedding

Saturday, I attended a gay wedding. The wedding was for two men, and it was very lovely.

The grooms are good friends of one of my housemates. Even though I don't know the grooms very well, I got invited to the wedding, as the wedding was held at the house where I live. I had only been to wedding once before. I was looking forward to the wedding.


The house was decorated nicely. The catered food was quite delicious. The highlight of the wedding was when grooms exchanging their vows. I could hear the moving and happy weepings from different corners of the room. Their love touched everyone in the house.

I have to mention two other things. First, both of grooms' ex-boyfriends were invited and attended their wedding. They were all happy to see the couples being happy together. Second, the wedding cake that my housemate's brother made was very delicious.

孟子 (Mencius)

"故天将降大任于是人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨，饿其体肤，空乏其身，行拂乱其所为，所以动心忍性，曾益其所不能。"－－《孟子·告子下》


"Thus, when Heaven is going to give a great responsibility to someone, it first makes his mind endure suffering. It makes his sinews and bones experience toil, and his body to suffer hunger. It inflicts him with poverty and knocks down everything he tries to build.

In this way Heaven stimulates his mind, stabilizes his temper and develops his weak points. People will always err, but it is only after making mistakes that they can correct themselves. Only when you have been mentally constricted can you become creative."--Mencius (Translation is taken from a website of a Japanese college)

This is great about the Internet. If anything comes to my mind, I can look it up in Google and find something related to it. If I find something in Chinese, I can also find its translated versions.

Now, I remember why I cited Mencius. I think Chinese have emphasized or appreciated too much that suffering is to lead to success. Enjoyment has been negate.

Beautiful Oregon Coast