Women's gymnastic

Watching the women's gymnastic competition was intense. Having grown up in China and watched the Chinese gymnastic team as a kid, I naturally 'favor' the Chinese team. But having lived in the states for 10+ years, and watching U.S and China competing this summer, I've came to appreciate the talents of Johnson and Liukins too. It was very conflicting indeed, I think I ended up cheering for both teams (weird, I know). And I later found out the bronze medalist Yang Yilin is from the Guangdong province, where I grew up. So there, one more reason for cheering for her. :) Anyways, I really think that both teams were great. I mean, they were literally taking turns: first China won gold at the team competition, then U.S won at individual all-around, then back to China for the uneven bars (thanks to whatever tie-breaking equation they used), and then back to the U.S for the balance beam (Johnson's single leg full-turn is amazing!).

For those who is confused as to which team I favor, I cheered exclusively for team U.S.A in the men's swimming competition (because of Michael Phelps). So it seems like my Olympic cheering depends on the category. : )

Sometimes I wonder if I can ever fully get along with my mom.

Aside from the fact that she jumps to conclusions too fast, she is also too fastidious. She somehow blames me (without mentioning specific reasons) for not dating right now. But I know she is also one of those moms that would incessantly criticize the daughter's bf, or even tell her how she can 'do better'. Anyways, I've learned that the best thing to do is to simply ignore it. I know that I can't change the way she acts towards me, I mean, people don't change, especially when they are already 50 years old. The only thing I can do is to not get defensive, because it leads to fighting a losing battle. The last thing I need is to constantly prove myself. I remember someone once wrote that parents usually don't change their earlier bias of their children, despite current facts proving otherwise. Maybe that explains why my mom is always surprised whenever I make a good decision.

Sore from badminton

This past Saturday, I picked up my favorite sport again. I played badminton with friends for about 2 hours. In the process of renting the badminton net, the cashier informed me that I need to return the net before 5pm closing time. I assured him that I would only play for 2 or 3 hours, and the cashier said "The Chinese can play for 20 hours!' Hahahah, that's probably not much of an exaggeration. Speaking of badminton, it amused me and my company that some guys needed to warm up for badminton by hopping around pretending they are actually hitting the shuttlecock. Anyways, I played better than I thought, given that I haven't played for such a long time.

After badminton, I went to check out the Italian Culture Fair with friends. I was impressed by the handbags displayed at the vendor's ( I assume they are imported from Italy). As far as design goes, the handbags are as cool as the ones sold in Nordstrom, but at a much cheaper price. No wonder why people always say Italians possess great tastes for handbag styles. The Saturday night ended with a nice meal @ Ennlee's apartment, where we ate with paper plates so no dish washing required. :) And of course, we watched the women's individual and relay swimming race. The Beijing Olympic games has became my favorite TV program to watch, along with Mad Men, that is.


Lansia and I, riding at the back of a cop car. :)

The grandiose of Beijing

Simply spectacular! I can't wait to visit Beijing someday, to explore the rich culture of this ancient city.

The struggle with not knowing

I remember one of my professors in college told us that she had stopped asking herself whether her work is making a real impact in people's lives, because she learned to let go. Her point is that she would never know if her teaching effected people's thinking, and would never get to see it for that matter, so it's no use to obsess over it.

I have been struggling with not knowing. Maybe it's from being an engineer, I always count on a definitive answer in the form of a number. I looked back at some personal choices I've made in the past, then caught myself asking questions that cannot be answered. I am talking about the "if only I had done/said that", "what if I had chosen my advisor more carefully back then", etc. Then I remind myself that the what-if case scenario cannot be compared to the reality I am living in right now, because no matter what I choose, most likely I live not knowing where the other path would lead to. Like my professor, I am trying to let go of the habit of always wanting to know. I might just be happier with not knowing...we'll see.



"Look back and smile, but don't yearn to go back"---Unknown

"Real love, I've learned, is a very, very strong form of forgiveness. I don't think people yearn for love because they hate staying home alone on Saturday night or because they dread going into restaurants alone. People want love because they want their taped-together glasses or the extra pounds to be forgiven. They want someone to look past the surface stuff like bad-hair days, a too-loud laugh or potato chips crunching in their living room couch when anyone sits down."

---Lois Smith Brady

Benefit of the doubt(?)

一個人可以帶著情緒疤痕而不停地追求愛情，是否因為我們相信benefit of the doubt? 可以失望一次又一次但還是不放棄，是否因為喜歡別人的時候是處於非自我境界？

“失望，有時候，也是一種幸福。 因為有所期待，才會失望。遺憾，也是一種幸福。因為還有令你遺憾的事情。”﹣﹣﹣張小嫻


When it comes to giving benefit of the doubt, recently I am starting to doubt my judgment. How do I draw the fine line? Or is there even one?