Filed under: Random
This night, I felt like an alien in this world. Everybody is eventually finding their place, their ending place in this world. I had been Rip Van Wrinkle, waking up after a seemingly brief nap, I find the world around me,
Strange.
It has to be done. There is nothing else as important as it.
Yesterday I finally talked to my mother after months of no communication. She caught a flu. But even in her weak voice, I detected a hint of amusement (in addition to her excitement when she heard that I will be in Singapore during Spring quarter), when she said to me, “By the way, there is something you might find interesting….”
So the story is, my Dad was going through my Grandma’s remaining possessions (she passed away more than 10 years ago) and found 2 pieces of paper. It turned out that when I was 7 year old and my brother 8 year old, she took our birth time and orientation (“si sung bak zi”) to those prognosticator so that they could foretell our lives. The result is a long written document fortelling my and my brother’s life from age 7 and 8. The prediction was written for every 5-year block of our life.
My mom didn’t tell me what is written. She said we will share it only when I went back to Hong Kong.
What I found most interesting is what this says about Grandma. Why didn’t she ever tell us she did this? She didn’t even tell my father or mother! She just hid those papers. And now, only after so many years after her decease and the date when this paper is written ( 21 years later ) was it found.
I miss her. In my mind, I can see my sneaky Grandma (she was cute, street smart, and sneaky) secretly taking our birth times and orientation to consult the old sage, and then hiding it.
I miss her.
Filed under: Random
As the weather became more fall-like, I am increasingly falling into a Christmas mode. I mentioned to my piano teacher about playing Christmas carols, and he whipped out “The Christmas Song.” I love this christmas song. It is extremely cozy. Hearing it conjures the image of my sipping a cup of hot chocolate by the warm fire. The lyrics mentions “chestnuts roasting by the open fire”.
Oh Christmas. It means being surrounded physically by loved ones.
Filed under: Random
1. A new student in my program who was formerly working in my position in Washington DC told me that in the summer picnic, he was telling a former deputy director of our institute and currently a professor that he will be going to U of C, when that professor says, “Oh, AW (me) goes there!” HE STILL REMEMBERS ME! HE STILL REMEMBERS WHO I AM!!!!
2. Ever google search yourself? I do. Why? Because citations are important to academics. Yesterday I found that one of my papers, which I thought nobody on earth reads, was heavily cited in a paper and indeed almost formed the basis of that paper! This is definitely a confidence booster. I should go forth being confident about the topics I pick and carry it out! Because, who knows, somebody just might find it interesting.
Tonight I had the most sumptious dinner at a restaurant named Graham Elliott (which claims to be Chicago’s first “bistronomic” restaurant). Reading the menu and listening to the description of the serve already took me to heaven. I have to say, this is the first time I felt the food screaming at me, telling me, “EAT ME! LOVE ME! APPRECIATE ME! See that I am special!” The moment I looked at the menu, I was confused — confused by the exotic and innovative combination of ingredients. We tried 5 courses:
1. a duck fraqua lollipop amuse bouche — the border of this lollipop is glued with those orange candy pieces that burst like fireworks in your mouth; As those candies were bursting in my mouth, the stuff that the lollipop was made of which is a mousse of duck fraqua melted and sept into every corner of my teeth! Crazy crazy crazy!
2. Tuna Sashimi — you think that this is just tuna sashimi in any Japanese restaurant? So wrong. This was my favorite dish. On top of the tuna sashimi is a passion fruit sorbet. Under the sashimi are slices of melon. Other things on this dish is fried crunchie stuff (I have no idea what it is) and chives and avocado cream. All I can say is — MAGIC. The best way to describe this is that all these different flavors work like instruments in an orchestra and together they played a magnificent symphony in my mouth.
3. Sea Scallops — I vaguely this dish is cooked with butter sauce and the menu mentioned something about caramel. Anyway, my mind was still with the Tuna Sashimi dish when I had this dish.
4. Salmon — this salmon was cooked to rare. I have to say I never had salmon so delicious — the taste is a combination of salmon sashimi and cooked salmon. Salmon sashimi is always my favorite, and combined with cooked salmon, it was great. The side is 4 different kind of carrots, and the bottom part of artichoke hearts.
5. Waygu Steak — this steak was cooked to rare. Under it is a layer of cold potato cream salad. The waiter mentioned a lot of other ingredients but at this time my mind and tongue have lost its senses due to the wonder of the previous dishes.
6. Dessert — a polenta with macerated blueberry/lemon sorbet. My stomach was trying to digest all the spices from the previous dishes.
7. an Egyptian chamomile tea (a pot which has all these gigantic sperm like leaves floating on top, served with those old fashion sand timer…waitress said I have to wait until the sand has completely dropped to the bottom for the tea to be served).
I never was a foodie — but this meal, was ART.
Filed under: Random
Perhaps being near sighted is only befitting for a person like me. Just got off a long phone conversation with little brother, and he urged me to BE REAL.
Being near sighted and wearing glasses is not really my biggest problem. Even if I have glasses, do I really see? I walk everyday, see the squirrel crossing the street, see the fluctuation of the stock market, see and have conversations with the people, but do I see?
I see you, I see the clothes you wear, I see your frown, I see your smile, but do I see?
I see your CV, I see the things you own, I see the restaurants you go to, but do I see you?
I see my classmates, I see the academic papers, I see my possessions, but do I see?
No I don’t see.
If I don’t see, what are my eyes for?
How can I see?
How can I make myself see?
Let me see what is real.
Filed under: Random
Today I was talking to V, an old guy friend, and he said:
“Seriously Anna, I don’t say this often, but whoever guy who ends up with you will be a very lucky guy and he will have a lot of fun because you are so genuine and fun.”
That’s the best compliment anybody paid me this year, esp given that it is from V.
Filed under: Random
Chatting with my little brother on AIM often makes me laugh. Recently we were talking about how to lead a good life and I told him to get married soon and have kids. Here is what he said:
Brother : after i make money, the bXXches will come flooding in
me: where are my sons of bXXches ?
Brother: u murder them with ur words
Filed under: Random
An instructor I had TAed for recently became a father. He sounded extremely excited in email and on the phone about being a father. Today I went to meet him and had the following conversation with him; I couldn’t help to control my snigger as he talked:
“Anna, having a baby is the most fantastic thing ever! You got to do it one day.”
(awkward “haha” from me)
“So was the labor short? Was the process smooth?” I asked (the baby arrived 2 weeks early)
“Well, actually the water leaked 2 days before the baby came. She came to me that night and said, “J___, I think my water broke…..and I asked, ‘Was it urine?’”
**at this point I tried to control my laugher**
“And then she said, NO. So I asked, ‘Was it vaginal discharge?’”
**at this point I was laughing***
And then he excitedly began to resume telling the labor process of his wife:
“Oh Anna, you learn so many things having a baby! Do you know how to stimulate contraction?”
***I said no****
He enthusiastically continued, “You actually can squeeze the nipples…such that the brain can produce the chemical oxidacin, and that will stimulate contraction.” (he made hand gestures to demonstrate what he was saying)
***I started laughing, because I suddenly recall that oxidacin is that chemical that women discharge when on the verge of orgasm and I thought of course squeezing the nipple can lead to that effect****
And then I mentioned the problem of how new mothers might find themselves unable to produce enough milk for the baby in the first month. To that, he started to describe the shape of the production function of breast milk, how breast milk adjusts to demand, and how break milk production is smoothed overtime according to the rational expectations of the breast.
Some people might find this conversation offensive; but I found it hilarious, and it actually endeared this new father to me.
