Thoughts

Helped Jennie move yesterday. Looking at a picture of her and Jason, for a moment, I thought I saw myself in that picture in the place of Jason. I talked to Jason. I asked him to be patient with Jennie, to ride out each storm with her by her side... no matter how bad the situation gets... never leave her by herself during the lows of her emotional rollercoaster. I told him, believe it or not, she needs him most when she is most angry and unreasonable. Leaving her to deal with her own emotion will only make her more scared and insecure. The cycle goes on. I wasn't able to do the right things when I was with her. I hope Jason will learn to do so and to provide what I couldn't have provided for her. I really want them to work out. I care about Jennie and I want the best for her and her baby.

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Is the happiness the only thing we strive for and care about in a relationship? I watched a TV program by RTHK last night (yes, I am finally subscribing to the chinese channels on direct TV). In it, several young people (who are college students) were interviewed for their views on relationships. One thing they mentioned which struck deep in my mind was that they think there is no guarantee in a relationship and that happiness "at this moment" is the most important thing in a relationship. But that is it? Happiness? Most important? I dunno. I refuse to believe that is the case. There is got to be more than that.

On a grander scale, is happiness what life is all about? Our life is simply a quest for or a pursuit of happiness. I dunno. I refuse to believe that is the case. There is got to be more than that.

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My parents will arrive tomorrow. They will stay with me till X'mas. Most people were bewildered when I told them that my parents will be staying for so long. I joked that at least I would be well-fed.

Commute

I rode my new bike to and from work today. It was fun and I finally got my needed exercise. The trip was surprisingly short... only took about 15-20 mins. Oh... a little over 3 miles each way. The only bad thing is that by the time I got to work, I was all sweaty.

soulmate

You don't always marry your soulmate.

Heard this on TV tonight. Is that true? I can't imagine how it can be called a marriage if your wife or husband is not your soulmate. So marriage is simply a way to procreate? But to procreate doesn't necessarily need to be married. I don't get it.

New bike

I bought a bicycle at a local bike shop... yeah! Trek 7.3 FX. Will take them several days to put it together. Can't wait... I'll be riding to work everyday!

Saturday morning

Aching body from yesterday's physical labor when I woke up this morning. Went to the Farmer's market at downtown Kankakee. A bit disappointed. Only a handful of stalls and only one was selling locally grown produce. I got a quart of strawberries and a bunch of asparagus.

Then I headed to a local bike shop. I've been thinking about getting a bike for a while. It'll be nice to ride my bike to work every day. Save some gas and better the environment! Anyway, the salesman was really knowledgeable. I guess $400-500 will be money good spent. Kinda on the expensive side. Need some time to think about it.

Lake Michigan

Got a day off today, sort of. I drove up to Miller Beach, IN to help my boss' brother landscaping his new house. Five of us put in 91 pots of plants in, oh, 5 hours. Not bad at all. We then took a dip at the beach. It was a hot day and the sand was scorchingly hot. The water was nice and cold though... maybe a bit too cold. Hit the bar with my boss and his older brother afterwards. I am now really really tired. Should have a good sleep tonight.

Bridal Veil Fall

Went to Target over lunch time to pick up the pictures. Hmm... they turned out ok. At least some of them did. Took me a while to figure out how to use the scanner at work to scan in the negative. Each picture takes forever. Anyway... I only had time to scan several. This is one of them.

Trip to Cali

It was a good trip. Got to see my good friend and her husband. We made a trip to Yosemite National Park with a couple other friends of her. Yosemite was really pretty. We were fortunate that it rained quite a bit a week b4; the streams were raging and waterfalls were just magnificent. I shot 7 rolls of films. (Thanks Ces for her camera and for arranging the trip.) I will post some pictures once I get them back. Yosemite remained me of 世外桃源...

I got back Tuesday night... actually Wednesday morning around 2. The flight got delayed. I slept for 10+ hours last night. I still haven't recovered from the trip. Haha...

Rain lots of rain

It was quite a cloudburst. I think we got at least 2 inches of rain in 15 minutes. A lot of places were flooded. Normally it's a 5 minutes drive from work to home... but today it took me almost an hour... several streets were not passable... well... I did drive around a little bit to check out the creeks near by. I've been working on the watershed plan for Soldier Creek here in town. So this is a really good opportunity to see how the creek and the storm sewer system are doing. Apparently not too well in some areas. I didn't have camera with me though... what a bummer.

I am going to see Indy 500 with my boss and his brothers this Friday. Actually I think it's the time trial.. .not quite sure. It'll be fun. A lot of beer... I was told.

And Saturday I am heading to San Jose, CA to see my friends... and we are going to Yosemite for the weekend. Can't wait!

breakin?

I am so angry... partly at myself. I think there had been an attempted breakin to my car. I found scratch marks on the passenger door and a little piece of the black foam seal around the back window was torn off. I kept thinking about when it could have happened... and I haven't had the slightest idea. I was so distracted and deep in thought about the whole thing that I spilled the whole cup of latte at the coffee shop earlier this evening.

I have to be really careful next time, making sure not to leave anything valuable in plain sight inside the car. This is why I am mad at myself as well.

Not a happy day for me...

THREE NOTES GO INTO A BAR

C, E-flat, and G go into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry, but we don't serve minors." So the E-flat leaves, and the C and the G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished; the G is out flat.

An F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough. A D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, "Excuse me. I'll just be a second." An A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor.

Then the bartender notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and exclaims, "Get out now! You're the seventh minor I've found in this bar tonight."

The E-flat, not easily deflated, comes back to the bar the next night in a 3-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender says: "You're looking sharp tonight, come on in! This could be a major development." This proves to be the case, as the E-flat takes off the suit, and everything else, and stands there au naturel.

Eventually, the C sobers up, and realizes in horror that he's under a rest.
The C is brought to trial, is found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an upscale correctional facility.

On appeal, however, the C is found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless.

The bartender decides he needs a rest - and closes the bar.

Happy Mother's Day

Mom... thanks for being my mom. Yes, you can be difficult to deal with some times... you get angry... you get mad... your mood can swing wildly... you are demanding... Yet, you are my mother. I have no choice. I can't go shop for another mother. I have told you so. And you laughed. You liked my honesty. I love you, mom. I won't be who I am today without your constant support and encouragement. You would give up everything for sister and I. I am ashamed that I could not have done the same in return to you. I wish I could have been a better son than I was. May be I was not that bad, was I? Happy Mother's Day... to you. Again, thanks for being my dearest mom.

Barbershop

Our barbershop chorus had the first show ever last Saturday. It was a great success. Over 400 people came to see our show and nearly filled up the entire high school auditorium. It was fun, fun to perform again in front of a great audience. We invited the chapter from Bloomington to sing with us. They were great... much better than we were. I hope our chapter will grow bigger and get better very soon.

Yosemite

I am soooo excited. I am going to California to visit my friends over the Memorial Break, the last weekend of May. We will be heading to the Yosemite National Park for that weekend. Yeah... I can't wait!

An excerpt of a news article

May 12, 1870 -- Kankakee Gazettes

... Long street dresses are coming in style again. They are a nuisance, and is so regarded by the ladies--or at least by those people who have pretty feet. But fashion says 'long' and 'long she goes,' inspite of taste and comfort. There is only one consolation, and that is that the crosswalks will be kept free from filth by the continuous sweeping of the trailing dresses over them.

Came across this funny article at work while reviewing the history of the Soldier Creek watershed.

Life

Heard something funny yet thought provoking yesterday...

Is life sexually transmitted?

What do you think?

心理測驗

你是個喜歡冒險，酷愛自由的人。想像力豐富的你，個性獨立，不大在乎別人對你的觀點。特別厭惡陳舊的觀念，及外來的束縛。不斷冒險、接受未知的挑戰，有助於你的成長。物質生活對你來說，不算頂重要，你注重的是精神及藝術生活的充實。
愛情方面，對婚姻抱特懷疑態度的你，深怕因此失去自由。進入熱戀階段後，你嚮往的是溫柔而有默契的伴侶，更布望他時常為帶來意多的驚喜。

True... I like to be free. I aspire to be free from all restrains... but I repect authority. Correct... Material things are not all that important to me.

I don't have doubts about marriage. But I do need certain amount of freedom ... trust from my partner that I'll be loyal to her.


人格特質十八問

她和他和小小的她

眼看他們的親密, 她肚中的小孩, 我真的可以笑臉迎人? 若無其事的與他們談笑風生?

表面上看來, 我好像做得到, 好像是很偉大的. 確實我並不偉大.

我心情是矛盾的, 是難過的. 難過是為了自己而難過, 他就是從前的我, 我卻再也不是從前的我. 我更難過是我所沒有的, 那寶貴的, 但不屬於我的小生命. 我相信我並不偉大, 我是自私的.

我不能像從前一樣的愛她, 我只能在遠處的替她高興, 替她憂心, 替她為感情懊惱, 替她因小孩忐忑不安.

真心的祝福她和他和小小的她.

Chair Race

To kick off Spring, yesterday we had our first ever chair race in the office. We laid out our course with several books. The starting line began at the HP plotter.... a loop around the office passing everyone's tables, through the conference room, reception area, another loop around the room and back to the HP plotter as finishing line. We had 4 races altogether; 2 persons/chairs in each race. The rule was that our butt had to stick to the chair the whole time. Turned out the best propulsion came by yanking the chair backwards. I didn't do too well and lost to my colleague. The best race was a couple of my colleagues got tangled up and one hatching a free ride from the other, along with 2 books stuck underneath the chairs. It was soooo much fun. We are going to make this a biweekly event.

Spring Fest

Had a great time today back at Purdue. It was the annual Spring Fest... and of course the infamous Bug Bowl (cockroach racing, cricket spitting, mealworm eating, ...). Being away from Purdue, I didn't even know that today was the first day of the 2-day Spring Fest, until a new friend of mine reminded me. She wasn't even a Purdue grad. Shame on me... I met up with her and her husband at Purdue around noon and introduced some of my Purdue friends to them. We had a lot of fun. Walked around campus and finally settled down at a new coffee shop. Chatted and chatted... and also played a game of Munchkins (a card game I bought a while back). Had middle-eastern food for dinner. Haven't had such a good lamb biryani in a long long while.

A good day didn't end so well as I was driving home... Got ticketed by a cop for speeding. Expensive!!!! I should have known because I saw at least 4 cop cars this morning... bad omen... I reminded myself to be careful. But then.... ~sigh...

But anyway... no regret for a wonderful day. Nice to have good friends and good food.