When writing to FC, I suddenly realized one thing. While my current teaching load is three times as much as the load when at UW and I am still alive here, I have been thinking how I could be that swamped (at least I claimed I was) by teaching only one course in the graduate school. And the reason was: I spent too much time whining. As it is now, I am too busy to even think about anything to whine. In the past, from time to time I felt guilty about being unproductive, watching too much TV series and having too much fun, now I often found myself falling asleep before a 45-minute show was over.
Maybe when one's capacity is forced to stretch to a size much larger than ever, everything in the past becomes so tiny. Maybe before making any real accomplishment, we need to be stretched over and over again.
Now my work and life are mixed so well that I can't tell the difference. Though I am not sure where it will lead to, I guess it's just the Assistant Professor 101.
The View I See
2010-10-16
2010-10-01
There is No Going Back
[寫於八月底]
回台灣一個月了，和往常一樣，夏末秋初總是在台灣渡過，同樣過於鬆懈的暑假尾聲、同樣的濕熱難耐，只是這次不同的是，當秋風吹起時，深夜十一點的飛機不再起飛 -- There is no going back。
今天決定把網誌標題改了。舊標「In the Middle of Nowhere」是過去六年的心情寫照，回台之後，留學生活的如夢似幻迅速消散，一切變得再踏實不過。迷惘虛幻之感沒了，接來的是責任與挑戰，學術和人生都是條 one-way trip，踏上了起跑點，就只能往前衝了。
舊標題下的照片，2008-09秋冬激盪下的視野，繼續留著，以備將來暈車時，還記得當初是如何地渴望搭上列車(*1)。
--
(*1) 見舊文 Byebye Jail.
回台灣一個月了，和往常一樣，夏末秋初總是在台灣渡過，同樣過於鬆懈的暑假尾聲、同樣的濕熱難耐，只是這次不同的是，當秋風吹起時，深夜十一點的飛機不再起飛 -- There is no going back。
今天決定把網誌標題改了。舊標「In the Middle of Nowhere」是過去六年的心情寫照，回台之後，留學生活的如夢似幻迅速消散，一切變得再踏實不過。迷惘虛幻之感沒了，接來的是責任與挑戰，學術和人生都是條 one-way trip，踏上了起跑點，就只能往前衝了。
舊標題下的照片，2008-09秋冬激盪下的視野，繼續留著，以備將來暈車時，還記得當初是如何地渴望搭上列車(*1)。
--
(*1) 見舊文 Byebye Jail.
2010-08-16
Two-Body Problem
An interesting story about the "two-body problem" -- the difficulty for academic couples to find two professional jobs in the same location -- : Is the Husband Going to Be a Problem?
2010-06-29
Fun Fact
Fun fact: My mom notified me yesterday that the average age at first marriage for women in Taiwan is 28.9. (Not sure where she got that statistic and don't bother to check. So let's assume that is correct.) Right now I am 28.75, which means unless I get married within next month, I'll go above the average and raise the national average marginally. Go curve!
2010-04-25
Oh Yeah, Babe!
Should I say this was an accomplishing week?
For one (and very trivial one compared to the next), I finally got up in time this morning to have a "breakfast" at Portage Bay around 11am, right before their breakfast menu ended. The quarterly mission accomplished (a goal set up at the beginning of the quarter). For the other, as a longtime TV junkie and a talk-show lover, I got to see Conan O'Brien's live tour in Seattle and hi5'd with him (oh yeah, my second celebrity hand) this Monday! More than a stand-up comedy as I originally expected, it was more like a variety concert with the Seattle-established rock band Pearl Jam showing up and crashing the crowd. My favorite piece and moment of the entire show was Conan's singing and interpretation of "I Will Survive"(*1), the song which was virtually the highlight of my (how could I say ...) state of mind. It was also a great song for desperate jogging by the way. The time and money spent on the ticket were totally worth it. (The ticket price, though not cheap, was not a big deal compared to other performances. As for the time, while the show had been sold out at the time I was aware of the tour, my constant effort at surveying ebay, Ticketmaster and some other second-hand ticket websites eventually brought me a seat at the centered orchestra, the 5th row from the stage! At the original price! Closer to the stage than ever expected!)
Side note: Another thing done this week, research-wise, was the seemingly reasonable results. Though there were some hidden flaws to be fixed. God bless me.
--
(*1) I've got a heads-up from his previous stop at Eugene Oregon that he was gonna perform this song and I have been trying really hard to avoid the spoiler on the YouTube. Believe me, songs have their moments too!
For one (and very trivial one compared to the next), I finally got up in time this morning to have a "breakfast" at Portage Bay around 11am, right before their breakfast menu ended. The quarterly mission accomplished (a goal set up at the beginning of the quarter). For the other, as a longtime TV junkie and a talk-show lover, I got to see Conan O'Brien's live tour in Seattle and hi5'd with him (oh yeah, my second celebrity hand) this Monday! More than a stand-up comedy as I originally expected, it was more like a variety concert with the Seattle-established rock band Pearl Jam showing up and crashing the crowd. My favorite piece and moment of the entire show was Conan's singing and interpretation of "I Will Survive"(*1), the song which was virtually the highlight of my (how could I say ...) state of mind. It was also a great song for desperate jogging by the way. The time and money spent on the ticket were totally worth it. (The ticket price, though not cheap, was not a big deal compared to other performances. As for the time, while the show had been sold out at the time I was aware of the tour, my constant effort at surveying ebay, Ticketmaster and some other second-hand ticket websites eventually brought me a seat at the centered orchestra, the 5th row from the stage! At the original price! Closer to the stage than ever expected!)
Side note: Another thing done this week, research-wise, was the seemingly reasonable results. Though there were some hidden flaws to be fixed. God bless me.
--
(*1) I've got a heads-up from his previous stop at Eugene Oregon that he was gonna perform this song and I have been trying really hard to avoid the spoiler on the YouTube. Believe me, songs have their moments too!
2010-04-03
2010-02-20
Unexpected Obsession
The first time I watched the 2006 movie【The Lake House】 was like two years ago, the result of random channel switching. When turning to HBO, my eyes were immediately attracted to the postcard-like scenes and dreamy dialog and music. Last weekend, random internet surfing led me to rewatch this movie again. And about four more times after that. An unexpected obsession.
Somebody told me this movie was adapted from a Korean movie. Not a big fan of Korean movies, I am not going to do the comparison. Not a big fan of Sci-Fi, the technical inconsistency of time travel part doesn't bother me at all. (I didn't even perceive those as inconsistencies as suggested by some reviews. Everything works just perfectly for me.) What I see is ... modern and classic beauty of Chicago, and amazing chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, though they don't share many scenes together. Chemistry comes out with no reason. Some people seem meant to be paired but some are just discordant (Like Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart in 【Love Happens】, the worst screen couple ever!)
The main message the movie tries to convey might be the spirit of soul mates. Don't settle for anyone unless he or she is the one. It's worth waiting. This is the ideal scenario though. The movie also raises the question: What if there is no one there waiting for you? The time and faith could be in vain. Anyway, life always works in a mysterious way. And there is only one single choice at a time. We'll never know what is gonna happen unless we proceed.
Somebody told me this movie was adapted from a Korean movie. Not a big fan of Korean movies, I am not going to do the comparison. Not a big fan of Sci-Fi, the technical inconsistency of time travel part doesn't bother me at all. (I didn't even perceive those as inconsistencies as suggested by some reviews. Everything works just perfectly for me.) What I see is ... modern and classic beauty of Chicago, and amazing chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, though they don't share many scenes together. Chemistry comes out with no reason. Some people seem meant to be paired but some are just discordant (Like Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart in 【Love Happens】, the worst screen couple ever!)
The main message the movie tries to convey might be the spirit of soul mates. Don't settle for anyone unless he or she is the one. It's worth waiting. This is the ideal scenario though. The movie also raises the question: What if there is no one there waiting for you? The time and faith could be in vain. Anyway, life always works in a mysterious way. And there is only one single choice at a time. We'll never know what is gonna happen unless we proceed.
2010-01-11
旅途早餐
突然很想念在拉斯維加斯機場裡頭 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 吃的早餐，其實也只是一杯冰卡布奇諾加一個巧克力瑪芬（？其實有點忘記是不是這個，忘記拍下來），飲料和食物都很細緻，兩個配起來很合口，吃起來也順口，不確定是不是因為那天從起床餓到進候機室才吃東西的緣故。
不過價錢貴的誇張，點餐的時候我還想說一般咖啡店咖啡加一個 pastry 應該頂多六塊，結果一結帳好像八塊多九塊，還好吃起來它還真的有八九塊的價值。這家是連鎖店但西雅圖沒有分店。
不知道是不是因為影集電影看太多，很愛在外吃早餐的感覺，尤其是旅途中，記得去紐約時在公路總站等車時也吃早餐吃得很開心（下圖）。早餐其實也沒有太大胃口，大部分的時候一杯香濃咖啡配上一個甜點就相當滿足了，如果住連鎖 Inn 的話通常飯店都會提供大陸式早餐，熱美式咖啡加上自助式現烤奶油鬆餅（我比較愛 waffle 勝於 pancake）就可以讓整個比較有精神起來，Inn 的早餐廳常會有電視撥報晨間新聞，這會讓平常早上根本起不來的我有種錯覺覺得自己活在當下，並且覺得這將會是個充滿朝氣的一天。
目前旅途早餐由 McCarran Airport 的 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 居首！
==
我還是不太愛美國人愛吃的早餐像培根等的食物，也不愛中式飯店會提供的像稀飯小米粥等的。在家的時候早餐常都就現有食物亂配，也常趁早餐放縱食慾（因為自以為早上吃比較不會胖），像今天早餐是昨天半夜煮的粉絲煲配黑咖啡，原本要分兩餐吃的粉絲煲被我從早上八點半起床到十一點全部解決。
2009-12-29
聖誕旅程
這趟旅程是在忙碌生活中的小小抽離，休息、遠走是為了走更長遠的路。
難忘的聖誕夜，在冷的半死亞利桑納州小鎮 Flagstaff 的商務小旅館上網上得很開心，我想以後想起來還是會會心一笑吧，儘管後來發生一些不愉快。
焦頭爛額在美第六年，一個冬夜，與一起在西雅圖活過第一年的伙伴，以及兩位萍水相逢的朋友，一起走在手腳差點凍僵零下十幾度的大峽谷，待到太陽完全下山見不到半點光才離開，在又黑又冷的雪地上開兩個多小時車程到附近的小鎮投宿，這小鎮有異常多的中國餐廳，路上吃了我在GPS上看店名亂選的四川菜，沒想到經過前兩天在LV暴飲暴食吃buffet後，這家川菜店居然又是個buffet，當看到門上貼著說聖誕夜有提供蟹腳，前兩天已經吃了一堆蟹腳的我們，笑地合不攏嘴的地說，這真是destiny。吃到熱食的我們總算在冷了一下午之後得到些許溫暖，最後的幸運餅乾我居然抽到了一個爛籤，說錯事犯第二次就別怪別人了，雖然盡量覺得只是玩笑，但仍心有餘悸，H好心把她的好籤給我，讓我沾點好運。這天晚上住了一個不錯的小旅館，外面零下快二十度（攝氏），我們在房裡把暖氣開到最強，盡情享用闊別已久的網際網路，X狂發電子郵件跟我們分享一些文章，我們女生則是看在大峽谷拍的搞笑video，C自言自語胡亂說著一些話，小感嘆地說下次見面又不知是何時了，電視則放著聖誕夜音樂晚會，一直到凌晨兩點也沒人去洗澡，大家都捨不得放下這寒冬中一點點的溫暖。（最後大家都很晚睡，隔天睡過頭，在快九點旅館提供免費早餐結束前趕去吃最後剩下的食物。）
* * *
難忘的聖誕夜，在冷的半死亞利桑納州小鎮 Flagstaff 的商務小旅館上網上得很開心，我想以後想起來還是會會心一笑吧，儘管後來發生一些不愉快。
焦頭爛額在美第六年，一個冬夜，與一起在西雅圖活過第一年的伙伴，以及兩位萍水相逢的朋友，一起走在手腳差點凍僵零下十幾度的大峽谷，待到太陽完全下山見不到半點光才離開，在又黑又冷的雪地上開兩個多小時車程到附近的小鎮投宿，這小鎮有異常多的中國餐廳，路上吃了我在GPS上看店名亂選的四川菜，沒想到經過前兩天在LV暴飲暴食吃buffet後，這家川菜店居然又是個buffet，當看到門上貼著說聖誕夜有提供蟹腳，前兩天已經吃了一堆蟹腳的我們，笑地合不攏嘴的地說，這真是destiny。吃到熱食的我們總算在冷了一下午之後得到些許溫暖，最後的幸運餅乾我居然抽到了一個爛籤，說錯事犯第二次就別怪別人了，雖然盡量覺得只是玩笑，但仍心有餘悸，H好心把她的好籤給我，讓我沾點好運。這天晚上住了一個不錯的小旅館，外面零下快二十度（攝氏），我們在房裡把暖氣開到最強，盡情享用闊別已久的網際網路，X狂發電子郵件跟我們分享一些文章，我們女生則是看在大峽谷拍的搞笑video，C自言自語胡亂說著一些話，小感嘆地說下次見面又不知是何時了，電視則放著聖誕夜音樂晚會，一直到凌晨兩點也沒人去洗澡，大家都捨不得放下這寒冬中一點點的溫暖。（最後大家都很晚睡，隔天睡過頭，在快九點旅館提供免費早餐結束前趕去吃最後剩下的食物。）
2009-12-02
Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy
Howie Day's 【Collide】 is such a great song. It reminds me of a clip in 【Scrubs】.
[Excerpt]
[Excerpt]
Dr. Kelso: Life is scary. Get used to it.
Dr. Kelso: There are no magical fixes. It's all up to you. So get up off your keister, get out of here, and go start doing the work.
Q: What if it's too hard?
Dr. Kelso: Nothing in this world that's worth having comes easy.
Narration: You can never truly capture the past.
Narration: You still have to try, though. Because as a recently incarcerated doctor once said, "Nothing worth having comes easy."
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