~New blog~

New blog @ http://meteorsky83.wordpress.com (they have better format and layout that I couldn't resist)

    Maybe it's in my gene, but I've never been good in small talks, especially socializing amongst strangers.  And the one time when I was out in a recent gathering, trying to be outgoing for a change, I ended up mistaking my waitress for a party guest and introduced myself to her.  The waitress gave me this puzzled look, like she's never seen any customer as friendly as me (yay! guess i made her day).  On that same note, I later mistaken the party guest for a waiter.  Such is life. :(  I sometimes feel like God is playing a prank on me.

   I've been watching old episodes of Ally McBeal (thanks to Netflix).  I used to watch that show when I was in High school, and to this day I still find humor and connection in the characters.  For better and for worse, I found myself relating to Ally on so many issues that were brought up in the show that it unnerved me a bit.  I love her wit, her intellect, her spirit (and even some of her men).  I think John Cage described Ally the best when he said "She understands loneliness, she’s afraid, she’s not afraid to be afraid. She’s just… magic.”  This leads me to the question of how does David Kelly understand the depth of women psyche so well to have written a show like this?  How does he know what being a modern woman feels like?  I guess sensitive guys do exist after all.

"We're not only wired to want what we can't have, but we're also wired to want what we really don't want"----Ally

Slow discovery of the Mile High

Yes, I've slowly began to discover my new home town for the past year.  And so far I'm not disappointed by what I found here,

1. Denver Museum of Art (DAM): I visited the place twice, and I will never get sick of the art galleries in display. Then again, I'm not very picky with art museums.  Although I wish they offer more hands on classes about art.

2. Denver Museum of Natural History & Science: I checked out the place last week with friends, and was very impressed by the size and interactive activities in the show rooms.  It has 3 spacious floors hosting different exhibitions (i.e., MRI pictures of rich woman's mummy vs. poor woman's mummy. I know).  The Pirate exhibit sponsored by National Geographic was very informative and interesting.

3. Trattoria Stella: Good Italian food, and good pinot grigio.  You get the idea.

4. Denver zoo: It's BIG.  We spent the whole Sunday afternoon roaming thru the zoo.  My favorite was the tigers, esp the baby tigers.  However, I later realized that we missed the bears.

5. Flatiron:  I went hiking there during my brief stay in Westminster at Marlana's place.  It was a very green, scenic trail. I only wish there're more trails like that around Greater Denver.   Hope to return to Flatiron this summer. In fact, I think going to Flatiron/Boulder should be a regular summer activity.

“To be a young American today is to experience both excitement and uncertainty,"---Dr. Arnett

This NYT article caught my attention.  It focuses on the work done by a well-known developmental psychologist, and it raises the question of whether or not the 20s can be viewed as its own developmental stage (similar to childhood, adolescent, etc).  Mostly because of the ubiquitous trend of 20-somethings unwilling to commit to things (jobs, relationship, etc), and the general lack of financial stability even into the late 20s.  While some readers made the comments that those who meander through their 20s are simply slackers, I thought it was too superficial to jump to conclusion like that.  Some people don't have a start on career because they are not able to immediately land a job they want right out of college, so plan B is to do a low-paid internship.  And to define adulthood as having a career, settling down getting married (and babies), and having a house, seems to over-simplify many things in today's society.  fMRI images have already shown that the human brain is not fully matured until the mid-20s. That in part explains why so many 20 somethings meander thru jobs, different cities, etc., in the quest for self discovery.  But only if you are in a situation where you can afford to do so.  The concept of "Emerging Adulthood" defined by Arnett is by no means universal.  In alot of developing countries, people have no options but to go from teenager to adult, not emerging adult.
  
The entire time when I was reading this article, I kept asking myself what if I could've afforded to do study abroad, or take some kind of internship in another city.  How different would my life be?  Or how different would my personality be? Starting from high school, I've always been consistent in knowing what I want to do, and how I want to live my life.  I wonder if "meander" my 20s away is really going to change my core values and goals.  I know I shouldn't adopt the what-if mentality, but reading article really piqued my curiosity.  Perhaps I should just content myself with the idea that "everything happens for a reason".

"Youth is wasted on the young"---George Bernard Shaw

Nostalgia

Nostalgia is, when I realized my all-time favorite animator, Hiyao Miyazaki, was the creator of Kiki's Delivery. I fell in love with the book when I first read it in China. But due to the fact that I was reading it in the local bookstore (yes, a bad habit of mine going back to childhood), I didn't ever finish the whole story. At the time, I didn't know Miyazaki was the author. But at least I can now rent the DVD.


Other works by Miyazaki that I love



And the latest work by H.M.(although this one sounds like a rendition of The Little Mermaid")


Aside from the cool animation scheme, I love how Miyazaki's main characters have always been strong, independent girls. :)

taking a break from the move...

Happy Mother's Day

"No one gets to choose their moms. For good or bad, we are stuck with them. And you know what, they don't get to choose who we are either. And God knows we are not perfect."---Tracy Jordan

The mile high city

Just got back from my brief trip to Denver. My first impression is that downtown Denver is like a more spread out version of downtown Chicago. Some of the streets surrounding the U of C Aurora campus (where I interviewed) is kinda run down. But the grandiose of the city's architecture reminds me of Chicago. However, once I drove around the suburbs and witness all that open space (cows chilling in acres of grass land), it feels a bit like Utah. And before I came to this city, people did say that Denver is a bigger, more spread out version of Salt Lake.

During my stay at my friend Marlana's apartment, I asked her what's Colorado known for (besides hippies), she told me that the truth is aside from organic food, Colorado is well known for legalization of medical marijuana. And sure enough, on my way to the Denver Art Museum (DAM), i saw this while driving, posted underneath the gasoline sign.

I also asked if Colorado gets tornados, since Colorado is neighbor to some tornado-proned states, like Kansas and Nebraska. Marlana wasn't sure. But I think my question was answered the next day, while I was driving around down to Castle Rock (thanks to the Garmin GPS navigator I borrowed), the radio program issued a warning for possible tornadoes in the counties east of metro Denver. At that time, I was driving east bound, but I figured it was just a warning, and as long as I tune in to the radio, I should be OK. And no, the tornado was never formed.

One thing I had to get used to was the weather of Denver, it's like this thing that can't make up its mind. It would be all sunny and nice for an hour, then the next thing you know it's raining like crazy. It even snowed on the day when I was leaving town. When I stopped by the DAM, I took a few pictures with a cloudy, gloomy background.

I wish I could have taken more pictures of Denver landmarks such as the ridiculously gigantic Invesco Stadium, and the trendy LoDo (where the streets seem kinda East Coast). But it was difficult driving and snapping pictures at the same time. Another thing about Denver is the street. For the most part it's the grid system like I'm used to, but in downtown district, logic does not apply to the street designs. The street layout either resembles a diamond shape or concentric circles with smaller streets cutting thru. Anyways, Denver seems like a nice, bustle town, with quite a few Midwesterners wanting better weather and more active lifestyle.

Got back to SL last friday evening, just in time for little Max's 1st birthday bash! :)

owning a business

In a recent discussion with a friend, I asked the question if she could own her business someday, what would it be. Not surprisingly, she said she would want a little cafe/bistro. Then she asked me what kind of business I would like for myself. I had to think about it for a bit, then I decided I would want an Interior Decor store, like Urban Outfitter but minus the apparel. However, I realize that it's hard to sustain business running a decor store, and from the furniture shops I've seen in town, they are always so empty it makes me wonder if they are closed. It would be nice to have more decor-oriented people around in the local market, the kind of people who would even consider decorating their homes on a seasonal basis (yes, they do exist, it's not just my wishful thinking), like Spring calls for floral color, Summer calls for bright green and yellow hues, fall calls for strong earthy colors, and winter calls for beige, that sort of things.

Aside from my frivolous interior decor idea, I also came up with a flower shop or greenhouse shop idea. I LOVE flowers and plants, especially Peony and baby's breath. And flower arrangement is always fun to do. I can tell customers the special meaning of a certain flower (provided that I memorize them from books), and I can probably use my biology background to genetically modify certain plant genes, so there will be one-of-a-kind mauvre peony, or a rose that smells like...honey. I will even have imported smultron plant from Europe....

Ok, I'm done daydreaming for the day. But it's always nice to have a dream.

My job hunt has already felt longer than it actually is.....I feel like I'm either looking at the wrong places or I'm just out of luck...or both. In the beginning of my job search, I had turned down two local job offers, that's because I had no idea how hard it is to find jobs in other places in this economy. There're several contacts from Boston, but the corresponding jobs were very low pay, and definitely not a career booster. And with places like Colorado, people seem to have decided that outsider applicants carry more risk, because if someone moves to a new place, he/she might not like the town and just ditch everything to leave. I guess I should have known this mentality before I turn down the previous offers. The best thing to do now is to ask for an old offer back (if it's still there).

On a lighter note, this girl (who shares my birthday) at work invited me to a BBQ sponsored by her church (Seven day adventist). She was so hilarious, she said she is the organizer and wanted to get more ppl, particularly more girls, to come to the BBQ, so she wouldn't be one of the few women there. She pleaded with me to come, with the promise that the people there will be 'normal'. I responded by saying "Carolyn, the only people who are normal are people you don't know.... and I saw that quote on a ceramic cup once" :). Anyways, she even went on facebook to show me the pictures of some of her friends who will be there. She persuaded me by saying "see they seem nice and normal, and doesn't she look like someone you would like to meet? She's very nice, and she's Chinese too...". My reply, "I like her dog!" (her profile pic showed her holding her dog).

I really hope that next time when I blog, it's not gonna be about job search again.

Coming soon...

"And there’s Kate’s free—floating 21st century malaise—the problem of how to live well and be a good person when poverty, homelessness, and sadness are always right outside the door. "

In theaters, April 30th.

"We're all Mr. or Ms. Good Enough, until you fall in love with the person who sees you and recognizes you as the right person for them. In our culture, good enough is not good enough. They think that it means lowering your expectations and lowering your standards. There's a difference between lowering your expectations and lowering your standards. Lowering your expectations is saying, "be realistic." If you just put us all in a dating lineup, we're not going to get perfect ratings from the world at large. We should lower our expectations in the sense of, we have to realize nobody is perfect. If you have unrealistic expectations, it's going to be hard to find a real human being who can meet them. But lowering our standards? No."---Lori Gottlieb

春節快樂

Wishing everyone an awesome year of the Tiger! Tiger happens to be one of my favorite animals. The big cat family is just adorable.

Coincidentally, first day of lunar new year is on Valentine's Day. I don't buy into those commercialized crap aspect of Vday, but I do appreciate the spirit, so I found these. :)

My crazy dreams

I usually sleep well, but once a while I have bizarre nightmares. Like the one I had two nights ago. So I've listed some of the ones that I had in the past.

1. The most recent one involved a black widow spider. In my dream, I saw this big black widow following me in fast speed. Not only it's black, it has this vivid ruby red color around the belly (yes I dream in color). The red really popped out in my dream, and I kept freaking out because the web of the spider kept sticking to my arm. Finally, one of my friends came to my rescue and brushed the thing off.

2. In this dream, I entered this glass-walled building. Shortly after, someone said that this lion was let out of the leash, and it's strolling at the front door. As I was heading to the back exit, I was informed that there's a leopard in the back exit door, attacking people. I was frustrated and scared, not knowing what to do since I'm sandwiched between the two beasts. Finally, I woke up. After waking up, I figured that one possible solution is I should lead the leopard to the lion, so they will fight each other while I escape.

3. This one also involved wild animal. I was in a ritzy hotel, there's a white Siberian tiger trying to get me and somehow I got trapped in the elevator. The elevator was the old-fashion kind, with the patterned metal as the sliding door. The elevator was not working properly, so the white tiger try to stick its paws thru the door! That Siberian tiger was quit intimidating at close-up.

4. This one does NOT involve animals. In a pulp-fiction-esque setting, I was taking shower, and this assassin was trying to get me by shooting bullets through the window. I later saw the assassin, and she was blonde. I think I had this dream because my subconscious was thinking about Kill Bill.

Anyways, I have no explanation as to why my nightmares always involve getting chased by animals.

Last Friday night, got a chance to watch the Beijing Acrobats with my friend Ennlee. It was my first time seeing them perform, and the show did not disappoint. Since no picture-taking was allowed, I found these pictures on google. Basically, these pictures looked very much the same as what I saw in the live performance.


My favorite segment was "sitting in high chair". When the guy climbed on the chairs, I could literally see the whole stack of chairs shake! It was pretty tense.

After the show, some of the acrobat performers were in the lobby helping to sell souvenirs. I wish I had asked them for a quick picture before leaving.

On an unrelated note, I saw this camera (maybe a different model) at Costco, it's the Lumix with 12 MP, very sleek design.

It comes with features like face recognition, and better shutter speed to capture picture in motion. What got me was that after rebate, Costco is selling it for like $170, that is just slightly more than what I paid for my 4.2 MP Sony Cybershot (which I got few yrs back). I'm so jealous, technology has moved so fast, and the price is getting better nowdays. Ugh.

Gotta love The Simpsons

"Even though you are a Starbucks girl, and I'm a Seattle's Best guy, I know we can focus on the things that we have in common, like Mad Men, Season two"---a wedding toast speech.

~* Have a great one *~

I found this article, my favorite part is when he talks about having made an "arrogant gamble".

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/garden/28bowe.html?em

"a 76-year-old widower in Manhattan who says he dated more than 300 women after his wife died, without ever finding anyone to take her place"

Crazy....yet it's touching in a bizzare way.

Location, Location...

Ever since I've started the tedious task of job hunting, I've been thinking hard about what makes a place appealing and what doesn't. Sometimes, I rely on sites like yelp or Sperling's best place to find other's opinions. And I've come to the conclusion that the ideal city should have more things going on than where I'm currently living, as well as affordable housing. I dread the idea of living in apartment complexes, because my experience with living in apts hasn't been that great, considering that the current neighbor smokes and occasionally pounds on the walls.

To digress, I've noticed that many places that I'd love to visit are not the same places where I want to move to (at this point), mostly because the housing is ridiculously high, and unemployment rate is higher in bigger metropolis too. But I've made a list of places that I like as vacation spots, or ones that I'm interested in visiting. They are in no particular order.

1. China

This was the first place that came to mind, because I haven't been back to China for SO long! I really miss my relatives and friends there, esp when Chinese New Year is just around the corner. I Also want to visit other cities like Shanghai and Beijing.

2. Paris

Yes, arguably one of the most overrated tourist spots in Europe if not in the world. I like it for the vibrant art scene, and I hear that Paris is just gorgeous in the spring. There's even a shoe museum in Paris.

3. San Francisco

I've been there a few times, and feel that this town is so different than LA. I really enjoyed SF, but felt that I haven't explored enough of it. Also, Santa Rosa and Napa valley are just around SF. I want to visit Santa Rosa just because they have the Peanuts museum featuring Snoopy and the whole gang. :)

4. Vancouver

Even though I lived in Toronto before I came to SLC, I didn't have the chance to visit Vancouver. I've seen pictures of the Jasper National Park, and it took my breath away. I guess the culture in Vancouver bears similarities to Seattle, very outdoorsy.

5. Rome/Venice

Authentic Italian food + Venice Carnevale + good coffee, what more do I need to say?

6. Scandinavia

I heard good things about this region. Just from looking at photos, I really love the architectures in the cities. Oh, and they have H&M. :)

7. Prague

I think eastern europe as a whole is underrated when it comes to tourism. People probably don't realize how much it has changed after the Soviet rules. But I really want to see it in person.

8. Istanbul

While browsing over a travel magazine, I read this article about Istanbul, Turkey. And that was enough to get me interested. Istanbul is the intersection for Asian, Middle Eastern, and Western cultures. That alone makes it fascinating because there's not alot of other places where these cultures can coexist peacefully. And judging by the photos, Istanbul is hipper than I thought. And there're belly dancers performing in cafes, draped in glamorous costumes (lots of glitters and bling, bling).

9. Barcelona

I'm curious to try Spanish food, and also there're tons of cool museums there, the most famous being the Dali and Picasso exhibit.

10. Osaka

For some reason, I'm not as interested in Tokyo than I am in Osaka. I think it's because Tokyo is so commercialized, like Hong Kong, whereas Osaka has more traditional culture. As a tourist, I want to see more of the local culture, not just another bank or subway station.

11. NYC

It's the center of the universe (at least for New Yorkers). What I find appealing about NYC is the different neighborhoods, soho, china town, TriBeca, meat-packing district (DVF's headquarter).

Suggestions to add to this list is welcome. :)

~For your entertainment~

In an effort to coordinate my schedule, I spend a good amount of time trying to communicate via email with this guy, whom I collaborate with. He's a researcher on campus, who looks pretty serious for a first impression.

My email
---actually, would Friday be better?

His email
---new years?

My email
---sure, why not

His email
---you need a hobby

My email (I was getting a little ticked-off after reading his response)
---actually, I was planning to go ski tomorrow (i do have a hobby!). But I was going to postpone that if you want to train me tomorrow, since you are leaving town soon. That explains the previous emails. [come on, you are making it hard for me to do my hobby!]

His email
---you go skiing. science can wait until monday. You should ski while the skiing is good.

Me
---Cool! :)

Him
---YEAH! ski safe

"人有時要傻一下，要瘋一下，要能多情，也要無情。"---張小嫻