strong wind

tonight, as the wind is blowing hard, the remaining leaves that were hanging on finally succumb to the crushing force of winter. so do I... falling into the deepest of the abyss.

winter and spring

Winter is here, but withered leaves still hang onto the tree limbs. Even the first snow has fallen. Why? Why do you linger? Time does not stop and pity your holding on. A few more frosty nights and a strong breeze... your strength will be depleted and your grip loosens. Time, it is just a matter of time before the last leaf is fallen. And winter will declare its final victory.

I wish winter will be over soon, though it has just begun.

Perhaps, hope lies in the coming of Spring. New leaves will grow once again and flowers will bloom once again. But memory from the past year has not lost. It has permanently marked it presence in the form of tree rings. Tree rings are hidden but forever recording the passage of time.

blood drive

Donated my first pint of blood today at church. The Red Cross came for a blood drive. I helped with unloading and loading. Parents helped escorting donors (on wheelchair if needed) after they were done giving blood.

I felt ok throughout the whole thing. But my bleed time was barely satisfactory... just a few seconds shy of 15 mins and 2 seconds which is the cut-off. I guess the nurse loosened the arm band just a tad too much. Otherwise, it would have been quicker. I was a little tired afterwards. But felt great otherwise.

I think everyone should give blood if they can. Only takes a little time. But many can be saved.

thanksgiving dinner

Had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner at the Barrone's. They were so nice to have us over. The food was great. We played a bit of poker afterwards. That was fun. Will post some pictures soon.

Dad tried his best to talk to Choppy (grandpa). Though he said later that he only picked up a few words and was guessing what Choppy was saying most of the time.

Mom said that it was too bad that she couldn't speak English. Otherwise she could have communicate better and more easily with ppl. She even said that if she were able to speak then she could live with dad near me in a separate house, not necessarily in the same house under the same roof. I can see that mom is trying very hard to change herself... I appreciate what she had said.

Thank you

I am thankful to you all, my friends, for your kind words and encouragements.
I am thankful to my cloud 9 who made my year memorable and still be a friend at the end.
I am thankful to my boss for his friendship and for his giving me a raise... more motivation to work hard.
I am thankful to my parents for their unfailing love.
I am thankful to my sister who is always my little sister.

God, thank You! Thank you for making everything possible.

Couple of songs

Thank you CPMF14 for the following songs.

KISS ME GOODBYE (Watch MV Here)

曲︰LEO REED／BARRY MASON
詞︰潘源良
編︰劉以達

像流星　閃出愛情　一刻也長記於心
但浮生　飄忽似雲　分開了難再走近

＊SO KISS ME GOODBYE　有緣沒有份
都珍貴有過一刻跟你共行
只想一生　都記往你的吻
他鄉裡　作我心窩裡孤燈

＃KISS ME GOODBYE　愛是從來沒缺陷
不可以共對一生　心也是真
留往這刻　盡情來熱吻　忘記淚痕
KISS ME GOODBYE

任時光　沖擊愛情　洗出我和你的心
願明天　一身客塵　彼此也能再走近

重唱　＊,＃


世界會變得很美 (Watch MV Here)

曲︰HIDEKI ANDOH
詞︰向雪懷
編︰CARL WONG

期待中我　煩悶枯橾
流浪街中的好一段日子
從未相信命運就是天意
只知道自我世界有苦惱

＊前面的世界誰人又知道
平坦的不一定是好
有些失意並未公報
想將我悶與痛快向你傾訴

＃聽說外面浮華如樂土
走出這世界會有千個夢兒
痛恨從前為何無從目睹
聽說這世界再次變得很美

＋忘記了今天失戀寄望在明天
心中更自傲　憑我的感覺找到
朋友都踏著命運腳步抗拒風雨
找到愛慕　在每一天我要不斷進步
你會某天叫好

重唱　＊,＃,＋,＋

The missing piece

Just as I thought I'd found my missing piece, the missing piece just slipped out of my hand. But no... I probably never had it in the first place. It is sad. But it is probably true. Everything seemed like a dream to me. Or I am still in this dream, never want to be awakened.

Wake up! You moron! Wake up and face the reality. As you have said long ago...Reality is cruel sometimes... but at least if you face it now, some good will eventually come in the long run.

I am not bitter. I am just sad. Extremely sad. For what I had treasured so preciously is now gone, forever. Time is my biggest ally but also my biggest enemy.

weekend b4 thanksgiving

Laziness has caught up with me at work. So time to make up for it. I worked for several hours this afternoon and will go back to the office and work some more tonight. Hope I can get all the stuff done b4 thanksgiving.

I think I have found the missing piece. The feeling that I had could not have been mistaken. I truly hope that I am correct. I am cautiously optimistic.

weekend

weekend was great. good friends from indy paid us a visit. we went dim sum at chinatown yesterday for lunch. then headed to macy's on state street and was going to check out the christmas window display. but we walked inside macy's from the 8th floor down to the first and forgot to walk outside and around the building to see the window display. kinda stupid. we got a LOT of food from chinatown and the korean grocery store for hotpot last night (and tonight we were still eating leftover hotpot ... reprise... i guess). went to church this morning... potluck for lunch at church. mom made curry chicken and the molten-core chocolate cupcakes. curry chicken was gone in a hurry and i couldn't even get a second. ppl were raving about the chocolate cupcakes as well. friends left around 5. a great weekend. parents had fun. and me too. but i missed my cloud 9. wish she was here. it would then have been even a more perfect weekend.

chatting with parents tonight. asked my dad whether he had a gf b4 meeting my mom. he said he was interested in a classmate when he went to school. but since his best friend also expressed interest in her and he just wished his friend best luck. and he said that his best friend eventually married the girl. i was also reminded that dad did not attend to primary school. he was too poor to go to school. later on when he owned a tailor shop with my then soon-to-be uncle, he could finally go to a vocational school. for that he went for 3 years or so. i asked him how he learned to read and write. he read comics, books and newspapers and just picked up the words. my dad's story reminds me how privilege a life i had in my childhood and also i have now.

my mom recounted stories of me and my sister's. i didn't walk till i was one and a half and i didn't speak a complete sentence till i was two and a half. mom asked the doctor if i was dumb. and the doc said i was as smart as james bond (my chinese name "pong"). mom said i was good at recognizing ppl and places, but would only say "ee-ee ar-ar" and a few single words before i was two years old. on the contrary, my sister could walk in ten months and could speak soon after. when i went to kindergarten, i would read my books to my sister and she could recite the entire book perfectly afterward. i played with my toys with intense interest and concentration, unlike my sister who only played if i played with her. my sister was addicted to her thumb. she would suck her thumb while grabbing onto her precious little towel. she had a hard time quitting her thumb-sucking habitat... in my memory... i still recall my sister doing her thumb even she was in primary school. i thought it was cute though at the time and didn't understand why mom always force her to quite. mom would put "maan kum" oil on her thumb but it wouldn't work for long. i don't remember when my sister finally kick that habit for good. my mom commented that her thumb was like opium to her. i couldn't help laughing. mom said i had a hard time weaning from my baby bottle no until my sister was born and i would have been three years old then. but my sister had no difficulties at all. in fact, my mom asked my sister to quit using the bottle and she picked up the bottle and dropped it in the trash basket. that was sooo funny but incredible.

stories that i have heard more a dozen times from my parents already, but each time they tell them, i learn a little more, feel a little more, and they imprint in my head a little more.

destiny

Destiny is not predetermined, I believe. God created us; He defined us... All the secrets lie in the DNA of our cells. But our DNA is only part of the story. Just as what we eat and what we are exposed to can turn on and off our genes. We have free will and we make choices in life that affect our destiny. God has instructed us to how to live our life but he did not preset our destiny. The path is set by every decision that we make in life.

JibJab