Desert Rose

I'm in the middle of writing my autobiography. The idea is to choose three major events in your life that has dictated who you are. So far my three is as follows:

1. My relationship with WQ.
2. Moving from Boston to LA.
3. ???

I am not my hair.
I am not my skin.
I am not your expectations.
I am the soul that lives within.

Last Chance

This is your last chance.

Do well, be well, stay well.

Why doesn't the wound stay shut?

Happy Birthday to Me...

My 25th birthday is officially here... It marks the end and the beginning of something great, which I can only hope my past experiences can help guide me through.

Things I wish to achieve this year:
1) Keep on going and moving
2) Strive to do what makes me happy
3) Stay close to family both in Asia and in the US

We are all part of something greater than our existence. We just have to take it one step at a time.

Anodyne

Anodyne: an·o·dyne serving to relieve pain

Another moment has just unearthed a flurry of eggs waiting to hatch. I am at another crossroads in my life and this time, I am rather thrilled to be a part of the action. If all goes as planned, I may very well be back in Boston this time next year... It all makes quite a bit of sense. I will return to where I started and a new chapter will unfold.

An exit has been set but where is the entrance?

G.U.I.L.T. trippin

Revelation

So I agree. This isn't the sexiest picture I could find or the most scenic in regards to the Beijing Olympics but it's pretty good in my opinion. It represents to me what I have seen and observed in my 2.5 weeks trip to Asia with my family - passion and creativity.

One of the things I think I missed out on growing up was to really appreciate my culture. I think I purposefully took it for granted that I spoke the language fluently and dabbled in a few of the Chinese Performing Arts. For me, I felt that distancing myself away from my cultural roots represented some kind of success because I was able to "make it" on my own without relying on the race card or on anyone. Now I have come to see that my roots and my family are the pillars to my success.

While I was in Asia, there was a noticeable transformation in the way I handled myself. I saw a shift to me being more relaxed around my family and able to spend less. The latter part of this statement does not stem from the convenience of having my parents around but rather the realization that I don't need much to be happy. It's a strange thing because in the states, I am constantly shopping and going out in between work. This leaves me feeling like I always don't have enough to spend, which increases my need to put in extra hours. Amongst family in Asia, I felt so idiotically happy with the simplest things like a really good cheap meal and being able to tip someone who wasn't used to being tipped. Most of the time I didn't even want to spend anything and if I spent something it was generally for the family or for food. This very simple but remarkable change has made all the difference to me in terms of how I see and understand the idea of luxury. None of the bright shiny plastic smelling department stores or fancy schmancy hotels with alert bellboys had caught my attention in the least. It was the small businesses with generations of families running them and the small stores set up inside narrow corridors, which held my fascination and intrigue. It was as if nothing really mattered except for the people around me.

Another interesting epiphany that was bestowed upon me was the profound respect I have for Chinese culture and its people. Simply being in Beijing was enough to captivate my amazement at the herculian change of the scenery, economy, and modernization. Most of it is owed to the preparation for the 2008 Olympics and it is nothing short of extraordinary. Not only was the architecture and layout of the buildings grand, the passion of the Chinese people had not fallen short in the slightest. The enthusiasm felt from the cab drivers to people we met was contagious because everyone had so much pride for their country. They knew about the history, the politics, and the current events of China as well as a history professor or an economist. I'm not sure I can even remember one third of the high school history I learned in school. The difference to me lies in passion.

To be continued...