Filed under: Personal
After passing by 10 states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California) and *** (See bottom for the list of ***) , my summer concluded by driving back to Chicago on the 1st day of fall.
It has been a fruitful summer in my ways, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Washington DC this time.
And what awaits me at Chicago? I do not know.
Footnote:
*** = numerous parking tickets, 1 reconciliation between reduced form and structural, many exuberances, 1 depression, 2 meals at my favorite restaurant Old Ebbit & Grill, 1000+ regressions, 1 sad model, 3 meetings with an economist that I had respected, uncountable cups of coffee, many chinese takeout, 3 fantasy books, 2 sailing books, 5 utterly enjoyable jogs around DC, many indulgences of fashion/girly magazines, more than 10 encounters of Berkeley alumni, 1 encounter with an old flame, x number of dates, 2 new friendships, numerous epithanies granted by chance.
I find my experience in choosing paper topics in my English classes a suitable analogy to writing research papers. According to all my English teachers — the more specific the topic, the better.
A good paper (English) is able to analyze all aspect of the character and has a central thesis — the English teacher emphasizes.
Over the years, I have found a fail-safe plan — just find a minor character of the novel and dissect it. A minor character allows me to have more scope to interpret it because it is not already well developed by the author. Thus, I can hijack the character, and no one can say I am wrong. Furthermore, since the character didn’t get as much attention as the main character, when I bring her out into the spotlight, I, as the author, am deemed to get some attention.
For example, in writing a paper about Lolita, I picked the character Charlotte Haze, and wrote a 6 pages paper about her, and of course obtained excellent marks.
After watching Dark Knight, I eschewed the dark themes about hope which prevails across the 3 hour film and picked on the minutest point about the film’s discrimination against China.
But this fail-safe plan does not get other people to remember your work, for ultimately they just don’t care or get passionate about them.
So, now it’s time to, perhaps, stop this fail-safe plan, and be brave. And plunge into the messy world the major characters — or topics, in the case of research.
Ever since copper prices soared, American cities have found more manholes cover here and there missing on the road (people stole it to sell the copper). This could be hazardous as cars that drove by could get stuck in hole if the hole is large enough.
On my way to the metro station to work everyday, I walk by a tiny manhole (or ant-hole)– no bigger than the size of my palm. It was next to CVS. One morning, during the busy morning commute hour, I saw this black man who was wearing a white T-shirt, digging at this tiny pothole with a scroll bar.
The police was just patrolling less than 30 feet from this man.
And bypassers were walking by in crowds.
Since I read the news articles about missing manhole cover, I paid a little attention to this man. Yet I thought, with all the people and police near by, he just couldn’t be stealing the cover in broad daylight.
That happened a month and a half ago.
Since then, every morning when I walk to the metro station, I would pass by this tiny manhole, with the missing cover. The man did a poor job — the manhole cover was basically carved away in the middle. It was like the leftover of a piece of bread where the child only dug away the middle part and left the crest uneaten.
It is the everyday reminder of a bad equilibrium from a coordination game.
Damn it, I could have denounced him and got all the glory!
Filed under: Musings
The chocolate fairy visited my desk between yesterday afternoon and today’s noon. I arrived completely late today to the office, only to discover a bar of DOVE smooth milk chocolate lying on top of the mountain of papers on my desk.
It tastes extra sweet, because the chocolate fairy gave it to me.
Filed under: Musings
A recurrent theme seldom mentioned in Harry Potter is the emphasis of Harry needing to call a place “home” before he turns 17, regardless of how unpleasant that home is.
Professor Dumbledore repeatedly told Harry that he is protected in Dursley Lane by being able to call that place home.
This emphasis on the importance of having a “base”, a place where you don’t stay all the time but nonetheless give you a lodging whenever you are not occupied by your normal occupation, agrees with me.
I don’t live in where my parents live. I set foot in their house perhaps once a year, staying for only a couple days. Nonetheless, the concept of having a “home” is heart warming, and consoles me in times of stress.
So,
I long for the bundle of warmth that is Yoyo to jump into my arms.
I long for the eager whining noise that Penny would make outside my door every morning after the first night I stayed at my parents place.
I long for hearing the odd things that my Dad does and the electic talent demonstration of my Mom.
