Lazy Christmas...

Spent a lazy last week here...Christmas Eve and Christmas was spent mostly lounging in bed, reading, watching movies or playing computer games...we did absolutely naught and didn't venture out of our room except to cook. We did a creamy mushroom sauce with pasta for Christmas Eve and a yummy marinated chicken with noodles for Christmas...

P completed his Prince of Persia and my 仙剑奇侠传, spent many many hours on these...and we finished up our collection of dvds and borrowed two from the front desk too! Its cozy watching dvds in the dark on the bed...we watched Love, Actually on Christmas night, it wasn't really up to expectations, it had a slightly disorganized feel about it somehow... we did The Birdcage to get a different feel for La Cage, Kill Bill 2 which was the only one P really liked with all the action and blood, in fact, he complained why there isn't more blood when Bill was really killed! I finally watched Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind, which was, honestly, a very strange movie, I didn't start liking it until halfway thru...but I really liked the part when it was Joel and Clem's last time together in his mind and she asked what they were going to do, and he answered "Enjoy it"...and we did Sunrise/Sunset because I wanted to watch them with the dialogue and with P...

Naturally, the skies and deities waited until Christmas was over before they were willing to drop a flake of snow...but the snow on the 26th was lovely, fine soft flakes covering Cambridge with a beautiful white powder...I'm glad that P left the car parked outside so when it appeared that the snow wasn't going to stop anytime soon, we had to go out to park the car in the garage... loved walking in such powdery soft snow... its overnight snow, meaning that I get to sink in snow while walking before going home...and I love that..

We had two sinful dessert suppers in our last week... the first at Finale, a desserterie which served exquisitely small but rich desserts, including one called molten hot chocolate that is really pure melting chocolate... the second was at Top of the Hub with a couple of friends tonight, we ordered almost all the desserts on the menu, all on par with Finale with the added benefit of a magnificent night view of Boston's sparkling lights....

We played badminton on Tuesday for about an hour and it felt really good to get off my butt after so many days of lazing in bed! Althou my arms feel all achy now... Also did a short bout of treadmill which hopefully burnt off all the calories I put in after all the rich food I ate recently. Althou they went straight back in with the kfc after the exercise. It felt so refreshing to go out in the cold air after exercise... so very invigorating to breathe in the frosty air, much better than air-con...

Did a lot of shopping on our last day here, taking advantage of the after-X'mas winter clearance sale...poor P, dragged along behind me trying on shoes and pants and whatnot and spending mounds of money, but had a pretty good haul with 4 sets of pants that I've been looking for, and we had a minor miracle this morning, ...two soundtracks that I ordered off Amazon and gave up on arriving before we flew arrived! I was so happy and amazed! I've been checking and re-checking and the track-parcel page was never updated, and today being the last day... I really gave up all hope, only to have P drop the box in my lap after getting the mail in the morning :)

The rest of the day was spent packing... and P also made some minor adjustments to this site...

And tomorrow... its our long voyage home...

Broadway!

And now, the reviews of the four Broadway shows we caught (you'll think I went to New York for Broadway only)

All four shows were good and unique in their own way, but the first show, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change was definitely the one both P and I liked best, the fact we were seated 1st row center didn't hurt. A show about the trials and tribulations of dating, marriage and growing old together hit close to home for us, we can identify with almost the entire show! From the scene about a guy carrying Macy's bags and singing about waiting, 'We came here for shoes, like she needs more shoes' (P would change the shoes to bags, accessories and god-knows-what-else) to the couple fighting in the car and the line 'I can live with that'. We know what they are singing about, and it made the mirthful show so much more funny and real to us. There was a particular poignant scene about a husband looking at his wife of 30 years across the breakfast table and singing 'Shouldn't I love you less' which especially touched us and the line, "I love you, you're perfect, now change". We look for the person that's perfect for us. and spend the rest of our life changing them....how true... how sad...

42nd Street was tap dance heaven... a show on Broadway about Broadway, the dance steps are amazing and breathtaking.... The story was simple but it really gave us an insight about the world of Broadway......Come and meet those dancing feet... on Forty-Second Street...... This is the musical that...s simply fun, a show that you can let yourself relax and just be drawn in the beat of dancing feet...

Compared to the previous musicals, Rent was definitely not fun... it is raw and angry and pure energy...a story about life in New York City, and not the glitter but the slums...the homeless and the hungry...a tale about how New York treats their tired and poor and their huddled masses yearning to breathe free... the wretched refuse of their teeming shores... I cried when Angel died, I guess it is true; some stories never have happy endings...

La Cage aux Folles wasn't exactly what I expected, the cabaret part of it was outrageous and entertaining, but the story line I wanted to see wasn't as fulfilling as expected... it didn't touch, and seems contrived somehow. The way Albin reacted when told he wasn't to attend his son's wedding seems mechanical and the scene on the sand between two men who shared a 20 year relationship simply didn't have the heart it should... Slightly disappointed, but still, it was good fun and did its job in amusing us.

Overall, I really liked New York, the big, bad city it is, with its glam and mess and throngs of people everywhere...It's a wonderful place to visit and especially exciting and dazzling in December...and it gave us five grand days =)

New York - Last Impressions

The fifth day was quite straightforward and filled with queues... we started off by queuing for tickets to the La Cage aux Folles matinee show at the Times Square TKTS outlet that sells tickets for the day at 50% off. I really wanted to watch this show after reading about it on the Playbill. It didn't take as long as expected and we got the tickets at 1030am for the 2pm show (we started queuing at 930 and they start selling at 10).

Since we have some time to kill but not enough to go anywhere serious... we decided to go to Serendipity 3, we actually attempted this yesterday but the queue was too crazy...but since Serendipity opens at 11, we figured we could get there early and maybe miss the queue... well, we were half right and half wrong... there was a long queue already... but since most of the people left... we only ended up queuing for approx 20 minutes! Well.. Serendipity, filled with jostling people and Tiffany lampshades, was an experience in iconic dining...The food was okay, the frozen hot chocolate was yummy (althou P said it tasted like milo), the menu was interesting...and worth the queue maybe once in a lifetime. I won't go back if I have to queue again...

After the show, we went for dinner at a French restaurant that proves 3 course dining is something you should only do if you have a lot of time to kill...but the crabmeat crepe was delicious...so it was worth the rush we did for our coach back to Boston...which was the worst metro ride we had in our 5 days here... the metro line we wanted apparently didn't exist! And we got on an express line that missed our stop making us have to go back and forth like mice in a tunnel...but we managed to catch a coach just before it left (and thus didn't have to stand outside in the cold waiting), and we made good time home, reaching at the dot of midnight and caught the last T back to home sweet home...ending our eventful 5 days in New York...

The Met.

Walked through the wintry Central Park on our way to the Met on our fourth day. I really like the frosty feel of the park... light snow covering the green lawns, stark tree branches stabbing into the azure skies...lakes frozen over reminding me of Weimin...I just love winter...

The Met was enormous and packed...luckily, I didn't plan to see everything in the first place... concentrated on the American Wing first before cutting through the Asian Wing to see my favorite Monet and the other Impressionists. I liked the American wing and the way they recreated several rooms to show how the people lived in the eras before us... reminded me of the Mark Twain House and the House of Seven Gables I visited before...I liked several of the American paintings too... but I simply fell in love with the Tiffany stained glass windows...they are so stunning... There were several Tiffany vases and a fountain on display as well which are so lovely...

I didn't expect the Met to have such a good collection of Monet! Even better than the Louvre...There was several good pieces of Manet as well as the famous van Gogh Cypresses and a couple other of his works but the Monets really lighted up my day =) Esp since there were several landscapes that I fell in love with, the colors and strokes he used...

Now to the highlight of the day... we went for the $20 dollar lottery tickets for tonight's performance of Rent. They sell the first two rows by lottery about 2 hours before the show, you put your name in at 530, and they draw at 6pm. I crossed my fingers...and I won! I don't think I ever won any lottery in my life! I was sooo happy and excited =)

Since we had 2 hours before the show began, we went to Toys'R'Us flagship store.. apparently the biggest toy store in the world.. complete with a ferris wheel in the store.. haha.. felt like such a kid.. but P and I always love toy stores...

Liberty & Ellis

Day 3 was a cold cold day....so cold that my finger hurt whenever I take them out from my gloves for a few fleeting moments to take pictures. But it didn't look like such a hell-froze-over day! The skies was an unbelievable shade of blue and the sun shone brightly... shows how looks can be deceptive..

We visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a very fun excursion if you don't take the weather into account. Liberty looks beautiful up close, her green patina shining in the sun; we managed to get one of the free tickets to the observation pedestal, and took quite a number of perfect pictures, including some of the Manhattan skyline. The museum was informative and I find it interesting how the guides emphasized that the statue was a gift from the people of France to the people of America. Before the guide left, he asked us to spend a moment thinking of the people that did not have the freedom to visit the statue and to think about what Liberty really means...

Had very yummy fried chicken and hot chocolate before boarding the ferry for Ellis Island..

I heard so much about Ellis Island before that it's almost surreal to visit this immigration museum... There was a feeling of deja vu when I stepped onto the linoleum floor...you can literally feel the place with its belly full of stories and secrets...so many broken dreams and tightly held hopes... I watched the film but skipped the guide due to time constraint. Somehow, they all seem so commercialized... too entertaining for such a place that tells its own story through the silence of the walls...

Somehow, both islands matched... the sonnet of Lazarus seems to be written for Ellis as much as for Liberty... "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"..

Ground Zero was our last stop that day, a big crater with white lights shining...It looks like an ordinary construction site...We went into the World Financial Center to escape the cold, and there was an unexpected good view over the site...Looking around at the luxurious settings of the WFC, and imagining the difference in the view I was looking at a couple of years ago on the night P tutored me in Java... fate has a quirky sense of humor...

We had dinner by the setting sun on Hudson River, a collage of gold and navy amidst the lit skyline...before heading for the Broadway show...

New York - First Impressions

Our New York trip started off quite smoothly, the coach ride was uneventful and punctual, dropping us off in New York's Chinatown precisely at 12 noon. We walked through the bustling Canal Street, giving in to the alluring scent of honey roasted nuts on the way to the T. Our first impression of New York... there are soooo many people! It might have been winter, but the pure body heat emitting from the masses thronging through the weekend market street warms the entire place up...Check-in was smooth sailing too, although we actually only reserved a room for one, they managed to find a double room for us, proving that crossing fingers really works :P

We had lunch at a lovely restaurant with a ornate fireplace, the food was delicious... I had smoked salmon with caviar cream and P had blueberry pancakes... yumm.. Its so cozy to be tucked in a corner with a fireplace enjoying good warm food when its winter...

We did simple things the first day... walked down Times Square and 5th Avenue...visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, Saks and various other department stores...The highlight of the day was Rockefeller Centre with its Christmas Tree and lighted angels...It was just opposite Saks which gave a pretty show with its blue lit snowflakes too...The place was packed but beautiful...New York sparkles in Christmas... all the lights and trees and decorations wherever you go...We walked down Times Square at night to see all the neon lights and billboards coming alive...the heart of New York...

The second day was spent visiting a couple of galleries while walking through SoHo...We headed to Chinatown for lunch. One of the cheapest meal we had for really good food...we had chicken congee and soy sauce chicken, and the congee was done just the way I liked it...

We walked around Chinatown and Little Italy which was all decked up for Christmas, there was even a procession pushing a baby Jesus down to the road while playing Christmas carols! We walked from Little Italy to Greenwich Village and saw a hilarious street performer Joey doing stunts and terrorizing a Korean volunteer at Washington Square...haha.. did a lot of walking today...Night was our first Broadway performance, or actually, off-Broadway in this case. And it was snowing when we got out of the show... soft flakes falling...with neon lights and billboards and Christmas Trees and golden bulbs lighting our way home...Christmas in New York...

week of fun

P's finals end on Tuesday, thus we had a fun-filled week before heading off to New York for 5 days, in fact, he was so confident of his papers that we watched Hero on the Friday before his exams... (well, what do you expect from a guy that says "I don't need it" to "good luck" before his paper?!)...he saw the trailer when we caught the Manchurian Candidate and was amazed by the graphics. This is my second time on seeing it and I definitely enjoyed it more... the first time I went in looking for a story and was kinda disappointed by the simplistic plot. This time, I sat back and appreciated the cinematic beauty of the show itself and wow-ed along with P

Tuesday and Wednesday was devoted to Ingmar Bergman, a Swedish director that I'm starting to be converted to...The two films were similar in their theme of love, but couldn't be more different otherwise. A Lesson in Love (En lektion i karlek) was a romantic comedy about how a husband plotted to get his wife back after she decided to divorce him over his infidelity. It was humorous starting from the opening scene where the good doctor broke it off with his mistress, the train scene where he flirted with the woman we didn't know was his wife was the highlight. The film was interposed with scenes of the couple's history, how they met and fell in love, and a particularly tender scene of the couple strolling through the forest together, rays of lights shining down between the canopy of trees, she turning back to look at him... there was several good scenes of their tomboyish daughter as well... turning it all into more than a comedy...into a film that made one reflect, how does one fall in and out of love...

Monika (Sommaren med Monika) documents the trials and tribulations of young love, of a very young couple, sharing one lovely summer together, before the wanting nature of Monika and the troubles of life drove the once-so-very-in-love couple apart and destroying their dreams...I loved Harriet Anderson as Monika, but somehow, Lars Ekborg's Harry touched me more, the way he tried so hard to keep their dreams alive... the way he said "at least we had a good summer" before the couple gave up living by themselves and headed for home...the way he kissed Monika before turning away when he discovered her infidelity, the way insisted on taking care of their daughter by himself when Monika left him, the way he stood in front of the shop window after selling all his possessions and recalled the summer they once had together...

We also caught Shear Madness, a hilarious whodunit play on Friday. It was one of the funniest plays I've watched in awhile...P was amazed by the fact that the play had ran for more than 3k shows. We tried to guess the murderer, and thus felt cheated when it was revealed that the murderer of the night actually was decided by the number of votes taken before the last act. But still, it was a fun night out :)

Other notable fun events includes Legal's on Tuesday and JL fulfilling his promise to cook paper-wrapped chicken on Thursday. It took so much work! From chopping the chicken, making the marinade and wrapping the chicken... it took most of the afternoon but it tasted wonderful :) We also went to Minado's for dinner on Thursday, a scrumptious Japanese buffet with free-flowing raw oysters and sashimi and a wide array of other dishes like crabmeat peach, lobsters, crepe, crab tempera, various sushi... yumm.....the best meals I've had in awhile...

I also went for two concerts showcasing pieces P wrote for his music class, the first one was a composition to a poem that I picked and the second was a minuet. We actually had a lot of fun when P was composing the music to the poem, he asked me for a melody and I hummed one that I liked but he said it was too "happy" and "contemporary"! Outraged, I hummed another tune that was basically all flats and he actually used that ultra-boring tune!!!! Ha...

I also met Shufen for lunch at Union Square, a Korean corner she discovered once when walking in the wrong direction... We had bimbimbap for lunch and discovered quite a large Korean/Japanese supermarket! A very good find, must better than the one at Porter... Another place to look for tasty goodies!

All in all, a wonderful week before we headed for New York...

Vermont

Went for a road trip to Vermont with Shufen for the weekend of 11th and 12th... Vermont is beautiful in winter, calming wintry picturesque scenes wherever you look, freeways lined with silver-tipped frosted trees and rural villages covered in icing-white snow, warm lights shining through the windows... making the stress and excitement this trip generated worthwhile...

As natural with most of the road trips I take, we got lost on the way there, lengthening the car ride which was already too long by itself... Poor Shufen drove from 10am to 3pm! We passed by numerous towns and villages with names like Dublin and Berlin through the routes cutting through New Hampshire... The trees slowly turning silver as we ascended...

Our first stop was Weston, to visit the Vermont Country Store. The village was actually more a row of postcard-perfect houses, with shops like the Village Christmas Store and a Halloween-ny village store. The country store was homey, complete with a Santa Claus asking if you had being nice and selling stuff like quilts and home-made dips. As we skipped lunch on the way here, we helped ourselves with the free-tasting dips and sauces, and because they were so delicious, we couldn't resist buying a couple of jars! The village store sells home-made fudge, which seemed to be made of nothing but sugar!

The sky turned rapidly dark when we left Weston, and the un-lighted roads seems more and more menacing as we winded round curves in the mist... under such stressful driving conditions... we decided against our original plan of Burlington and settled for the motel in White River Junction instead. But the motel was so elusive! We got lost twice before we found it... I hopped out of the car to ask for directions whenever we got lost, and I never felt cold at all each time due to the tension running through my veins! I was never so happy to see anything as the gaudy yellow and black sign that night...we had dinner, called my dad to wish him happy birthday... and went to bed...



The next day started off quite easily, we didn't get lost at all today... but this is when the real excitement started... We decided to simply drive up to Montpelier to visit a cider mill and a maple sugar farm. The route was very straightforward... no driving around in circles like the day before... but we forgot about the icing on the road! The freeways were covered in frozen snow except for a single lane in the parts of the freeways that's used more frequently...And it was at a very straight road that the car skidded... Shufen slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel, but we still went barreling towards the road barrier, banged it and went freewheeling to the other side of the road before the car hit the hilly side and stopped. Ha... it was the most exciting event of my life, I survived a car accident! Both of us were naturally quite pale after the event, but Shufen gamely reversed the car and we went with our trip :P

The cider mill was very pretty, the red of the house setting off the snowy surroundings perfectly, there was even a red train model and swings... We missed the cider-making as it only operates on weekdays, but we saw the video and got a pretty good idea... basically, you crush the apples to make cider. Simple, ne? The minute we got out of the car at the sugar farm, we smelt the thick, sweet scent of burning sugar, although they only harvest the sugar sap in spring, the wide lands of the farm was still a wonderful landscape to take in...

Our last stop was Quechee, with its gorgeous gorge and village... The gorge was impressive but the village was fun with a small train running through the entire village. We had lunch at an authentic diner car, which was an experience. The village's main attraction was its antique mall, which halfway through we thought had too much antiques...But there was a real stone house with a working chimney, supposedly to be a blacksmith's shop but really selling stained glass items.. and there was a toy and train museum with huge train models and glass showings of toys from every era starting from the 1950s onwards...Everything was like a fairy tale... in a snowy fairy tale setting...

We finally left for our drive home at 4pm, a drive which turned out to be as eventful as our other long drives... we were stopped by a police car on I-93! As we didn't realize that the car was following us (why would a police car want to stop two frail and harmless girls?!), we didn't stop when they flashed their blue lights and sirens at us until they kept behind us for 3 miles. (in fact, we still didn't believe they wanted us to stop and took an exit out to confirm that they were really following us). The state trooper was quite mad at us and went on and on about how we should have stopped long ago...they kept us waiting for quite awhile, we had 3 police cars surrounding us at this point (3 cars for 2 girls?!)...I started recalling all the horror stories I heard about the police in the states... it turned out that we forgot to turn on our headlights.... Haiz...

We finally reached senior house at about 730pm (quite a short drive, compared to our starting drive)... Shufen was quite simply blank at this point... driving for ages through the two days, the poor girl... Luckily, there was a study break for the finals, home-cooked food...we had dinner...and slept through the night before returning the car the next morning, where we were informed about the unbelievable car insurance system that requires us to pay anything less than 1k usd for damages to the car! We were sooooo tired at this point of time, that we really didn't need anymore added stress... in the end, we put down 500 usd, which added to the 300 usd deposit we paid earlier, made 800 usd. And the guy called afterwards that since the repairs cost approx 750, that's all he'll charge us, including the 150usd for the car rental... at this point, we simply didn't want to see him again...

Overall, Vermont was a wonderful trip.... with all the frost and snow and lights and country houses...it's a perfect setting for Christmas... and we kept seeing cars on the roads with Christmas trees tied to the roof! We visited a few Christmas stores which were all bustling with people shopping for Christmas and filled with Christmas ornaments... It really feels like Christmas... although I've always celebrated Christmas when I was a kid... this was the first time I really felt it's Christmas for real... a white Christmas with magic in the air...

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Driving, despite all the problems we encountered, is a beautiful way of seeing Vermont, passing by all the charming village scenes that seemed to be straight out of the fairy tales I read as a child...even the ice-covered roads fraught with dangers had a pristine beauty all of its own...

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So, I'll do it all over again... for the experience of a lifetime, for the icy air filled with Christmas joy and the magical charm of Vermont...

Other activities...

And the other activities...

Took a walk through Commonwealth Ave, the Public Gardens and Downtown Crossing on Dec. 4th in between the fairs...found a monument dedicated to the people of Boston that died in Sept. 11th... enjoyed the quiet time to myself, it was a beautiful day...and the gardens were all yellow and blue. Fall colors...different from the time I walked through the exact same route in spring (you can scroll down to see the photo I put up in spring for the difference) ... Downtown Crossing was all decked up for Christmas with a lit Christmas tree. Filene's Christmas scenes were up and very intricately done...

Food-wise, JL organized a Thanksgiving dinner with the grad people...We started cooking from 11am and didn't stop until 5pm, after which we went over to the grad housing where the dinner was held and continued cooking until 6 plus... and there was so much food! Two turkeys! We did sweet potato casserole (which turned out to be deliciously sweet), baked yam, jiao zi, and two kinds of pasta (the creamy mushroom one was amazingly good too). And that's only half of what was served...there was about 30 plus people (and I actually met a sec. sch friend, talk about 6 degrees). Was extremely tired at the end of it all, being on your feet for the entire day cooking does that to you...

Also went to Ocean Wealth for Ruijie's birthday, and had a very scrumptious lobster dinner (I like it more than legal's!). There was about 10-12 of us, kinda of a mass dinner...

Both occasions reminded me of the times we had such mass dinners/lunches in Beijing, usually you never do know half the people...just people in foreign countries gathering together for celebrations...but they are fond memories...

In other news, I finished the scrapbook on the Europe trip (which brings a very great sense of satisfaction) and I'm not going to talk about my books, that'll take up way too much time! But I did enjoy Rule of Four and Five People you Meet in Heaven, two very different books and good in their own ways...

Plays, vcds, concerts and crafts fairs

Next up, plays, vcds, concerts and crafts fairs...

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Play count: 2

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1.Menopause Musical : A brassy and bawdy play, one that I enjoyed despite the fact that it's obviously targeted at another generation of women that I've thankfully not arrived at yet... 2.Provok'd Wife : another comedy, one talking in rhyme. Amazing set but a dialogue that I feel would be better enjoyed in print. I do wish I can get to know the Boston theatre scene better, so I'll be able to make more informed choices in plays...

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VCD count: 1

1.Beauty or Beast: I know, I know, I brought so many vcds over, and I've only managed to finish this one set. But I really like Beauty or Beast, each episode is so thought-provoking and touching in its own way...the issues dealt with hitting straight at the heart of the world of news broadcasting. Each time I wondered how I'll deal with the situation if I was the chief producer in question, and I never do know the answer... A very well created product, different from the other Jap serials, keeping the fluff but with an additional layer of thought...

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Concert count: 2

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I know I said there are two concerts, the MIT Cross Products and Chorallaries and the Harvard Lowkeys and Opportunes, but both are A Capella concerts and honestly, I can't tell the difference between the two. So I'm doing them at the same time. I did enjoy these two concerts, a capella being my one of my personal favorites. However, the fact is I don't really recognize many of the songs (I don't listen to enough English songs!)... But I did like the MIT Chorallaries Engineers' Drinking Song!

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Crafts Fair count: 3

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Went to 3 crafts fairs on 4th Dec! Must be a record somewhere...

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1.Le Marche de Noel: Situated at the French Library and Cultural Center, I went there more to explore what a Back Bay mansion is like than to look at the expensive wares of various French merchants around town... And wow, these Back Bay mansions are very impressive indeed! Much larger than they look from the outside (they actually have two staircases!), and very luxurious window seats...

2.Christmas Fair: Went to a Christmas fair at the Christ Church Cambridge next, it was a very homey affair, with most of the people knowing each other. There was a bakery section with fresh goodies and hot cider (bought a couple of cookies and brownies for P who was stuck at home with a sprained ankle), and an attic corner with all kinds of knick-knacks probably dug up from the various attics of the church members...

3. Cultural Survival Bazaar : A fair held in a huge hall with oriental rugs strewn all over the floor...filled with "indigenous art and crafts", meaning rugs and shawls and sculptures and earrings with an exotic accent...Somehow, I don't see these stuff from places like Peru, Tibet and Africa being all that indigenous, but who am I to say? Suffice to say, I didn't buy anything...

Films...

Summary update of what I've been up to lately... first up, the films...

Film count: 8
1.Beauty and the Beast : I really love this animation classic, I can't believe I only watched it once! It brought back all the old warm fuzzy feelings of childhood... the innocence and simple sense of fun..
2.Demonlover : An Assayas French film, that's... complex, convoluted, complicated and I do know they all mean the same thing! Still, it's fascinating; an unearthing of human being's baser instincts...
3.Madam Satan : An old Hollywood black-n-white comedy, haha, I do love these old black-n-white Hollywood comedies... esp. Some Like it Hot! This one has a similar style, and Kay Johnson is as pretty as Monroe too!
4.The Stranger (Agantuk) : My first Indian film! Its amazingly interesting, a humorous satire of a long-lost uncle entering a middle-class family's life in Calcutta, an amusing exploration of human feelings, wonderful acting all around...
5.Aelita: Queen of Mars : A silent black-n-white, Harvard Film Archive invited a MIT music prof. to compile a composition of piano scores and play it live, but this doesn't help at all! After the first few interesting minutes... I found myself soooo bored... that I left the minute I saw P in the theatre. Ha... I guess I'm just not cut out for silent films? Or its because I just don't like the futuristic theme of this film..
6.Life of Brian : A parody of Jesus' life by Monty Python. This is my first Monty Python show, and I can't say I enjoyed it as much as hyped. It's funny, okay, but most of the jokes start getting old halfway through the film...
7.Manchurian Candidate : I watched this with P! Our first movie together since... like forever... which is a good thing coz he understood the plot a lot more than I do and explained it all to me when we got out...
8.For Sale (A Vendre) : By far the best film I've watched since Sunrise/Sunset. An extremely intelligent film, exploring the psyche of a French girl that sells herself, and the feelings of the P.I. investigating her... and the relationship they form through time and space... It's not an easy film, but it's one that you go home thinking about..

Hartford

Went to Hartford, CT for the thanksgiving weekend with Shufen. (Okay, I admit, this is a very late update). The trip with fraught with uncertainty, we didn't know how we were going to get there or when we were going to get there until the very day before! The itinerary was pretty spontaneous too, meaning we mostly ended up wandering around the city of Hartford for most of the second day.

Due to the last minute decision making, we could only get the afternoon coach, meaning we arrived in Hartford around mid-afternoon. Since its winter, that means the skies were minutes to darkening, and we managed to catch a very pretty sunset over the Connecticut River, soft pinks and blues.

The reason we chose Hartford was due to the Festival of Lights, which we thought would be a Thanksgiving celebration, but turned out to be a Christmas celebration, complete with Christmas carols and a Santa Claus sliding down Constitution Plaza! But the lights are magnificent, its very simple, only the mini gold light bulbs were used, no fancy colors or designs, but the sheer number (think 250,000 if I remember correctly) of the twinkling lights used to drape over the trees and sculptures really transforms the place.. the Christmas carols were lovely too, there was a very unique rendition of "Deck the Halls" by a choir that I really liked..

We originally planned on Gillette Castle the second day, but discovered that there were no buses there! Which is pretty incredulous, seeing that it's a tourist spot, it should be easy to reach, else there won't be any tourists? I guess I'm too used to the tourist-friendly Europe, and forgot that in America, you either get a car or you don't go anywhere.

So in the end, we spent the day strolling around Hartford, visited the Bushnell Gardens and the Mark Twain House which was surprisingly engaging. Mark Twain had a fascinating life, and the sound bites surrounding the museum makes me think that his books should be an interesting read. At the very least, his house was beautifully done, and all decorated for Christmas too! Its really beginning to look like Christmas.

We spent half the day walking to Elizabeth Gardens for the roses and greenhouses, actually it was for the "roses in greenhouses", but it turned out to be a separate entity and naturally, we saw rose-less twines around rows of trellis, which with imagination, should be very pretty indeed. But it was an enjoyable walk, and we passed by the University of Connecticut with a very Hogwarts-like school of law.

Due to the long, long walk, we had lots of time to talk, the bus back to Boston turned out to be late, and I discovered that Shufen have a extremely sweet voice when she sings, not to mention a marvelous memory for lyrics! I guess the best thing of this trip is the company - as it always is with trips. =)

Before Sunrise & Before Sunset

Watched Before Sunrise about 10 minutes before I watched Before Sunset because I so wanted to watch this two movies consecutively. Loved the way both were filmed in the similar impossibly straightforward styles. Both basically consisted of the two people who met on a train ride strolling about European cities, talking to each other about their feelings, their views and their lives and doing it again when they meet again 9 years later. The connection between them as they wandered about Vienna in Sunrise seemed so real, the way they can talk about seemingly everything under the sun, the communication that's missing in so many of our lives. The night seemed like a moment suspended in time.

The dialogue was amazing, several lines remaining in my mind long after the movies. "After tomorrow morning we'll probably never see each other," one says. "Well, who says relationships have to last forever?" I liked the way Sunset picked up 9 years later, with the regrets and changes between them. They have changed, and yet have not changed. I love the reflections between the both films, the way Sunset showed the places the couple will go before the film vs. the way Sunrise showed it after the film, the tram ride mirroring the boat ride on the Seine... I loved the glimpses of Vienna and Paris through the films, both cities I visited before (I've actually spent a lot of time in Shakespeare & Co. in Paris!). And both characters seemed so real, the way they argued and joked, the way they talked about the problems they faced, the look on Jesse's face when Celine asked if she had changed being so male and female..

I didn't like the tagline for Sunset. It didn't felt like a second chance with the one that got away. That line seems so... cliche for such a lovely film. I don't know what will have happened if Celine showed up at the platform of December 16th, but the sense of loss and hope renewed definitely would be missing... I complained about the lack of ending when Sunset ended, but when I think about the smile on Jesse's face when he said "I know" to Celine's "You're so going to miss that plane"... perhaps.. that's ending enough...

A image of Celine and Jesse walking down the streets of Paris in the sunlight keeps recurring in my mind after watching the film, both so comfortable with each other... "I like to feel his eyes on me when I look away"...Both films felt like shafts of sunlight.. films of hope and light...

First Snow

First snow of the year... and its so very early. The trees have yet to lose their fall reds and golds...

ss

Have been pretty much lazing around for the past week. Caught alot of shows, including Irma Vep on the first day, the Lion King Musical and Bourne Identity and Supremacy.

ss

Irma Vep was a doucumentary style arthouse film, starring Maggie Cheung as herself. Interesting until the dizzy end... a clean yet messy look...

ss

Lion King was in one word, impressive. It had a very caberet feel about it, not much of a storyline to speak of as I watched the animation before, but the innovative costumes and set was worth the ticket price, not to mention the intricate opera house itself. A very enjoyable night.

ss

Really like the two Bourne shows, can't say the same for the draggy original novel. But the movies were great fun, very intelligent script and great actors, including Matt Damon :p

ss

Been sleeping alot since I came... but still went out to take lots of photos with the first snowfall... Would never stop feeling amazed with the sight of freshly fallen snow.. the pureness of the white, untouched by nothing but the breath of air..

雨

细雨霏雨点点，
独倚窗墙边。
欲念不念缠绵，
无力再怀缅。
只愿苍天存怜，
莫让雨落反无缘。

思，图书馆一角观雨玩作

《摘星》

应该在做作业，却跑来看动画。无意之间，看到《爱过流星》，音乐与人物听来有些熟悉。想想，原来是许久前看过的《摘星》的续篇。

看过《摘星》，听说是动画的经典。我却不喜欢。不能谅解女主角心云对爱情的毫无坚持。读过许多线上的讨论，解释她的苦衷。但，我却依旧认为，她背后有再好 的理由，也一样。不坚持就是不坚持嘛。女主角不值得爱，男主角爱得再执著，都显得有些有眼无珠。愚蠢的爱情，无法让我感动。听说，《摘星》后来还被拍成电 视剧。我实在没什么兴趣去看。

我反而比较喜欢《爱过流星》。男女主角六年后在咖啡馆短暂的重逢，身上都带点沧桑，曾经刻骨铭心的感情只留淡淡余味，有一种隽永的感觉。昀汉在心云离开时喊了她一声，微笑对她说：“要幸福哦！”看了，有一种落泪的冲动。

《摘星》的歌词如下：
多年以后，某个路口，擦肩而过
你的笑依旧，而我也选择放手。

当你多年后碰到曾经爱过的人，除了祝福，你还能给他什么呢？错过了，可是还是希望她幸福...

接下来几晚，又得赶报告而没得好眠。唉，自作孽，不可活，应验起来也不过如此吧...

家人有约

昨天和佳相约，在一间露天意大利餐馆为她庆生。好久没有这样轻松愉快地感觉了。餐馆的气氛很好，靠海，灯光微暗，还能看到远处的城市夜景。但，更舒服的应 该是吃饭的对象吧。好久没见到我这个“小”表妹了。一席畅谈，时间过得特别快。之后，我们还意犹未尽，跑去Clementi的Pasar Malam逛街。

真得很开心，能在忙碌的生活中抽些时间，将烦恼抛到远远的，和好朋友见见面。尽管我们都知道，有一大堆功课等着，但什么都掩不了现在的开心。人生中，有这些朋友，有这些时光，就值得了。

最近在听一些将唐诗宋词制成流行乐的曲子。很特别，清清淡淡的。特别喜爱其中一首长相思。

汴水流，泗水流，
流到瓜洲古渡头。
吴山点点愁。

思悠悠，恨悠悠，
恨到归时方始休。
月明人倚楼。

思悠悠，恨悠悠，思又如何，恨又如何。将一切寄水而流，只剩淡淡爱愁。对什么，都别那么在乎。也许，这样比较好。反正，无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来。

陀螺

好久没来了。不知为什么，进了NIE之后，整个人，仿佛陷进了漩涡，做完了一份作业又是一份作业，转呀转的，有点像个陀螺。忙到最后，已经不知道自己在忙些什么，为什么而忙了。

上个星期被派到学校去观察教学，竟然见到了中学很疼爱我的一个华文老师。在观察一堂课时，老师分下复习作业，叫学生自己复习。闲来无事，就帮帮坐在我身旁的男孩，下课时，他对我说：“老师，谢谢你。“

有惊喜，有错愕。忽然发现，我，已经不是学生了。虽然，在我老师面前，我永远都是个学生。但，人生的另一个阶段，却在我不知不觉中，突然袭了上来。

最近碰到一些不如意的事，真的发现，人，活在世上，真的有许多自己没办法解决的事。自己一生骄纵，现在才明白。 不开心时，并不是想什么就能开心的。不喜欢长大，因为觉得太无力。

Krimml

decided to visit Krimml instead of our original plan of Graz or Innsbruck...despite that its inaccessible location that means we have to spend a night on a train when we leave in order to reach Chur in time to meet the Glacier Express the day after and it takes numerous train-hopping plus a bus that never appeared to get up to the mountain village. in the end, we had to trudge up the mountain road, knocking on every door (and there were very little doors to knock) asking for directions in hope of an offer for a ride up. we did get a ride...when we were halfway up ;p

In the end, it was all worth it... Krimml is a beautiful village... we went there for the famed Krimml Wasserfalle, and got so much more in return...

The peace and quiet of a secluded mountainville was what we needed after the crowded cities of Vienna and Salzburg. We got a lovely room complete with breakfast and offers of a ride down for 17 euros. There was barely a soul as we wandered around the minuscule village. The air was sweetly fresh with the recent rainfall and pure. The surrounding mountain peaks created a calm and serene atmosphere. For once, there was no place we needed to rush to or see, we just needed to be, and take in this feeling of tranquility... it was a wonderful rest in the midst of our journey...

Vienne

Last day in Vienne and its a rainy day... we went to see the Spanish Reitschule morning exercise in the Winter Palace in the morning. the steps of the horses are made part of a orchestrated ballet, very graceful and measured. I really want to go back and see a full show...

we went to Vienna University next for lunch at its cafeteria, one of the cheapest meal we had ;p the never-stoppiing elevator up to the cafeteria was worth the trip itself! An adventure getting on and off :) the university was interesting as well, the oldest university in the german-speaking world, had a feel for what its like to study here...

did some sights next, the neo-gothic neues rathaus (new town house) and the burgtheater. The theater was almost totally destroyed by a bomb and rebulit. The guide gave quite an extensive introduction to the history of the theater, even as to describing each of the ceiling frescos.

finally had enough of sights as well as P's wet and squishy shoes. We set off for Mariahilfer Strasse, vienna's busiest shopping street, to buy waterproof shoes. Happily succeeded in buying two pairs of Gortex shoes, both waterproof and breathable! Shopping is indeed therapeutic :)

Had weiner schnitzel for dinner, fried breaded pork, crispy and reminded me of chicken cutlet. decided that I waited too long to eat this viennese delicacy.

settled the next day's railway tickets and schedule at Westbahnhof before heading home to pack...

Karlskirche

second day in vienna... went to the augustinerkirche in the morning, the church where sisi and franz joseph was married, as well as the nationalbibliothek (meaning national library :) I want the live in the library!!! Its the perfect scholar's study...

strolled along Graben and Kartner Strasse in the afternoon, fashionable shopping streets of Vienna and had several bite sized sandwiches of various toppings for lunch. saw a economical japanese restaurant.. and couldn't resist...

visited the Stephansdom again for a closer look at its interior and climbed up the south spire for a aerial view of vienna and to walk off the lunch :) I love the churches... such fascinating pieces of history and amazing architecture and all free ;p although the towers' steep spiral steps attempts murder with every step.

went to Hotel Sacher for the "original" sachertorte (I'm such a sucker for original) before visiting the Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera House). P's very happy today because of the variety of foods we tried today ;p

The highlight of today is Karlskirche, a beautiful mint and white dome church with towers and oriental-style columns. Its so special because it is the only church complete with a glass elevator that sends you all the way up to the top of the dome to see the wall murals and the cupola frescos up close! Even P was impressed (and that's hard to achieve!). Its slightly frightening when you'll all the way at the top, right at the tip of the dome. the wooden flooring suddenly seem quite flimsy and Karlskirche is the tallest Baroque Church in Vienna! But its definitely worth it for the beautiful frescos, done mostly in pastels, depicting angels and other biblical stories...

dinner's at Naschmarkt, a lively market selling everything from flowers, produce to restaurants.

We went home via the Karlplatz pavillion subway station, one of the prettiest subway entrance we've seen, with sunflower gilt motifs on patina-green copper roofs, matching Karlskirche perfectly :)

三年

今天是三周年纪念。感觉平平淡淡。三年了。一段感情，起起落落，开心与不开心，都过了三年了。昨天P写信给我时说，这三年，好像梦一般。

打从前天开始，他便一直问我，收到信了没。却一直不肯说是什么信。今天收到信时方知，那傻蛋，用铅笔画了4幅小画，跟着Precious Moments的style，画了我们的记忆。our own precious moments.

“从来不知道，原来你有画画天分耶。”
“我小时候画画很厉害的哦！”

很简单的画，只是素描。也许是我们今天的心情写照。时间使所有的浮沉不定都慢慢沉淀。

只有在最细微的生活中透出的幸福快乐，才是最真实的。

平淡也浪漫。无语也温暖。

Fireworks

had an rare eventful day yesterday :)

as one of the precious days that I can sleep until I "wake naturally", I woke close to 11am. updated on the europe trip which I am lagging far far far behind :( haiz.. at this rate, I don't know when I will finish...

went to red star for a dim sum lunch with mom and dad :) delicously yummy... then its off to the Kwan Im Temple at waterloo. took some photos of fortune teller and one Qi Gong for Shutu. Not sure if they are any good thou... after seeing K's photos.. I discover that my photos are truly only for mine and P's memories'sake. well, as long as we can look at them and go "remember when..." when we are old... ^-^

went to the NTUC fair at Suntec in the afternoon and found my korean aloe vera drink! and going for only S$3.5! compared to the USD$5 in boston, this is too good to be true. esp since I am willing to pay exorbitant rates for this drink :)

went for the fireworks at Marina Bay in the evening. An act of near-insanity with the huge masses of people pressing and squeezing against each other... an ordeal to get there and another ordeal getting out... but still managed to take a few good photos and videos of the pretty lights for P :)

Vienna

first day in the imperial city of vienna... our first stop is the "very soul of the city", the Stephansdom. A huge bulky Gothic-style cathedral smack in the middle of Wien. We reached there with the mass in service, attempts at sneaking in was thwarted by the obvious asian face :p thus had to settle for viewing the interior of high vaulted cathedral from the back of the church.

walked down to schwedenplatz afterwards via a suggusted route that passed by several minor sights. Took a leisurely walk round the city and had delicous pizza for lunch as well as a kasekrainer at the original Wurstl am Hoher Markt :) yummy...sausage with cheese melting out of every bite...

we somehow ended up walking down kohlmarkt to land in michealerplatz, in front of the Hofburg Complex, castle of the Habsburg Empire.

visited the apartments and the schaztkammer in the alte burg. although the rooms were sumptuously decorated and the treasury one of the most impressive collection I have seen (truly, all the jewels and exquisite antiques) , what I really was interested in is the much-loved empress Sisi who lived in these apartments. A fascinating woman with stars in her hair and sorrow in her heart.

We left via Herrengasse and walked to Freyung, the old sanctury of the scottish church. a pretty glass-roofed courtyard with the Austria Fountain depicting the major rivers, all awashed in sepia lighting...

walked out to am hof and enjoyed dinner at an open-air austrian place before going home...

Danube

Left Salzburg for Vienna today by a rather circuitous route via the Danube. Took the train the Melk and bought tickets for the Blue Danube Cruise before visiting the magnificent Melk Abbey. This Benedictine Abbey is HUGE and looks very noble overlooking the little village. Nearly fell in love with the library, filled to the ceiling with tomes of hand-copied scriptures by the monks. The interior of the abbey was beautiful as well, shell-like spiral staircases, marble halls and baroque chapels and wide courtyards...

The Danube isn't blue... more like a muddy green. P was certainly not impressed ;p but still, the views along the way of austrian villages, castles and ruins has a charm of its own.

We stopped over at the fairytale village of Durnstein, a dainty little place with only one main street with interesting little shops, but its so perfect! When the boat was approaching the village, I prayed so hard that this would be our stop... its so pretty with a tall blue and white church tower right at the docks! It still have its medieval wall surrounding the village, to get up to it, we had to climb up a covered stairway, making us feel like we are entering another time. I want to go back there one day and stay in its schloss hotel...

We left Durnstein for Vienna, a long boat ride complete with two locks (this thing that changes the water level of the boat, quite fascinating. P went "we're sinking??" at the first one when we didn't know what's going on). Also caught a beautiful sunset on the Danube, skies and water turning a delicate shade of pink, accentuated by the lights of the boat..

But this had us arriving at Vienna at 9pm... causing a adventure in finding our hostel accommodations... but it was all worth it when we saw our hostel room, a cozy little room complete with a mini-table, closet, tv (which we never used) and comfy bunkbeds, our first private room in our travels...

Bad Durrnberg

Spent half the day in Bad Durrnberg Salt Mine in an attempt to learn more about Salzburg's history...Salt was known as "white gold" in the times of the archbishops and brought Salzburg its legendary wealth. But in truth, we came away with the memory of the mad scientist white coats we had to wear and the steep slides used by the miners to get to the bottom of the mine which was really fun. Wheee! and you are at the bottom of the mine in seconds. Ingenious. There was also an underground salt lake we had to cross with a boat, its pretty amazing to cross a lake when you are god-knows-how-many-feet underground...

After we got out of the dark and gloomy mine, we took some time to climb up the steep steps of Durrnberg to the St. Maria Church for pretty views of flower-strewn hilly lawns..

The second half of the day was spent at Hallein, a picturesque village which happened to have a market-fair on with stalls selling all kind of items from dolls to cheese and milk! There were people buying cheese by the bucket or is it milk? ;p

Went back to Salzburg with enough daylight for a last stroll down Getridgasse. P also helped me find an elusive garden full of gnomes in the Mirabell Gardens, kitschy I know, but so cute! Especially when he imitated one for me to take a photo :)

Hohensalzburg & Hellbrunn

We started the day with Hohensalzburg Fortress, the landmark of Salzburg. The aerial view of Salzburg from the fortress was impressive, while the white turnip coat of arms was somewhat amusing. The tour did give us a basic understanding of the history of Salzburg and its archbishops.

After the stern history lecture, we went to the playful Hellbrunn Palace, the summer residence of the archbishops. And it was fun! Loved all the trick fountains, from the dining table to the wasserspieles that shoot up as you pass by. P complained about getting wet but we were laughing the whole time :) the mechanical theatre was fascinating as well as the minature grottos with figures powered by water.

we went back to Salzburg for dinner, starting with a slice of esterhazytorte, a heavenly concoction with feathered icing. I had a certain salmon dish that literally melts in the mouth and P bought a burrito of sorts from a stall in one of the many passageways.

We walked through Linzergasse on the neustadt and visited an Italian style cemetery on the way back...

Salzburg

we arrived in Salzburg, Austria on a rainy afternoon... P therefore decided that he didn't like this place ;p

However, he did like the hot dog with added cucumbers snitched from the morning's free breakfast at Fussen we shared under the somewhat inadequate umbrella shelter :) There's nothing quite like biting into a hot and sweet sausage on a cold, rainy day... it's even worth the rain for the experience...

we visited Mirabell Gardens before crossing the river to the altstadt and spent the day wandering around Salzburg's old town, visiting the many kirches and platzs and attempting to get lost amidst the maze of alleys and passages..

of all the many churches we saw this day, my favourite is the baroque kollegienkirche, with the white cloud and cupid carvings. the gothic franziskanerkiche comes a close second simply because of how different it stands out with its vast and un-adorned vaulted ceiling and regal air.

I love getreidegasse with its intricate wrought iron signs... a medieval shopping area! and all the passageways and courtyards and portals... it's one of the most charming street we saw...
for once, when P lit up at a MacDonald's sign, it was understandable :P

Linderhof

Linderhof... the only one of King Ludwig's castles that's finished. P liked it because its the smallest :p until he realised how vast the gardens are...

Linderhof is more a minature palace than castle, very intimate and very gold, very decadent... the grounds are impressive, perfect setting for the fountains and statues. The Venus Grotto was hauntingly pretty and very cold...

We did the long walk to the hunting lodge, covering almost the entire place and came back at the top of the terrace, giving us views of both the front and back of the terrace gardens...

We visited Oberammergau on the way back, a village famed for its navity woodcarving and house-wall murals, called Luftlmalereien, literally "paintings in the air"... I love the Bavarian wall paintings...it adds so much color to both the houses and the streetlife... and its so authentically Bavarian...

Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein... the fairytale castle of dreams... an exquisite mirage in the Bavarian Alps...

we were one of the first in the castle in order to escape the crowds... it was worth it to have the castle to ourselves on Marie's Bridge...

we walked around the Alpsee after visiting both castles, P had the wonderful idea of taking a rowboat out on the lake. It was one of the loveliest things we did, floating on the lake with views of both castles and the alps. The sun shining gently down and the tourist crowds far away...

we took the cablecar up the alps in the afternoon and hiked up near the top...our first hike up the snowy and craggy mountains...breathtaking views... P was very impressed by the hang-gliders :p

one of our best days... the castles... the lake... the Bavarian Alps...

Fussen

Fussen, a small Bavarian village on the Romantic Strasse...

We spent the day wandering around this bright and cheerful village, with its small shops and cobbled streets. Its baroque church is the first of its kind that we saw... amazing us with the richness of its ornaments.

I like Fussen because of its small town feel, very Bavarian with their colorful houses and shops, embracing one with a relaxed, holiday feeling...

Zurich

Zurich... our very first stop... which makes it special...

we arrived on a sunday... thus the famous Banhofstrasse was an abandoned elegant boulevard. However, this allows us to see the quiet beauty of Zurich.

We took a 4h cruise on Zurichsee, and P promptly took the chance to snooze under the sunny skies ;p

explored the two churches of Zurich upon return... climbed up to the top of Grossmunster for an ariel view of Zurich...walked through the old town and discovered the peaceful spot of Lindenhof...an old park overlooking the river, complete of giant chess sets and swings...

went back to the bustling street of our hostel to eat dinner at Macdonald's before going back to the hostel. Came out at night after showering for a look at Zurich's nightsky...

woke up at 5am the next day to catch the 730 train to Munich... and had the river to ourselves as we crossed the bridge at dawn... quiet and calm and pink-tinged... and that remains my memory of Zurich... elegant and calm.. and lightly rosy-tinged...

Salem

we drove to salem, witch village the day before we left for europe...

always wanted to visit salem... having read so many books, facts and fiction equal, intepreting the events that happened there so long ago...

slightly disappointed at how commercialized the whole place is now...the many sights and interests so vainly exploiting the true and fictional events that happened there...

still...learned facts that I never knew before... Salem's old fame as a seaport (apparantly, China once believed Salem was a country by itself, based on the vast number of ships that came from Salem!), the history of pirates of Salems... all outweighed by the witches... poor things :p

I only wish... the town can lose that faint veneer of artificial polish...

dazzling day

was scanning through the photos stored in the ipod... and realised I forgot about this beautiful day...

I can't even remember the date... or why we went out... to return library books? to borrow books? or simply to visit Trinity? only that it was a beautiful day and we did go out..

we went to Trinity...and to the library...truly explored the library for the historical monument it is, wandering through the frescoed walls and halls, instead of just getting my books and out.

we walked down the green commonwealth ave, amidst strolling dogs and snowing blossoms...past Public Garden and Boston Common to the Macdonald's there for chips and ice-cream...

we walked back through the common to Charles Street... and did a repeat of last year to get the meringue cookies we missed... through charles street and across longfellow bridge over the river and home...

such a long, long walk and we weren't tired at all at the end... I remember the blue skies and the green trees, I remember the salty and hot fries against the cold and sweet ice-cream... I remember the laughter reflecting off the mirror-like lake and river...

it was a beautiful day... dreamy and bright... did I really forget? or was it simply resting in a corner of my mind? a dazzling memory...

home is where the heart is

finally... I'm home... in my haven... then one place that I can truly call my own...

they say home is where your love is... perhaps that's true in a way. P always says his favourite place is wherever I am...why else would I always leave my haven for ages at a time? but my room is my special place...

arrived at midnight as usual and hit the ground running... phone calls, unpacking, finding a backpack for my brother and plans for registration tmr...

want to do updates for europe as well.. planning to update one day per day... which will take me roughly 30++ days to finish up the entire trip...

the best part about going away is coming home... if only...

etre et avoir

a very sweet documentary... one that touches abit too close to heart... a career that I will be facing in the near future... shown in a way that it should be, only I know that it will never be so for me...

the innocence of the children, the never-flagging patience of the teacher... both substances that I no longer have or never had in the first place...

teaching a child to wash his hands while teaching another fractions... teaching patience, teaching confidence, teaching independence... teaching each child to be, and not just to have...

Is this what a teacher should be? teaching out of the love from the bottom of your heart... teaching in such a way that it becomes a joy, something priceless, using imagination and only the most basic tools. without the technology of our life... we are reduced to the core of our hearts...

when did we forget that teaching does not mean imparting knowledge? that teaching is nurturing at its very essence?

I felt I was watching a fairy tale...

night sailing

went night sailing last night with a group of friends (excluding P, who refused to go, the anti-social git)

It was a clear night with a huge full moon that's impossibly round. We had a wonderful view of the Boston skyline, all lighted up.

I always loved to be out on the water with the wind blowing... a feeling of freedom, no restrictions. It's a feeling you don't get on ground. Water and wind, flowing and streaming, has an allure that's irresistably present in its infinite forms.

I'll always remember sitting at the tip of the boat, looking out at the broad horizon of lights and towers, freezingly cold but wonderfully free...

:P I think I was an icicle when I got back... with P being the perfect hot water bottle..

plymouth

wanted to talk mmore about Plymouth... the place where the pilgrims were first landed in America (with a Greek Revival like buliding protecting the rock they supposedly landed on *rolls eyes*)

We visited a Plantation that's supposed to be a detailed replica of the first Pligrim village complete with interpreters acting as the exact people that lived there and the replica of Mayflower.

There's alot of effort placed in studying the history of the Pligrims.

Plymouth gave me a feeling of a relaxed coastal town. With a waterfront that resembles a minature San Francisco in a way. Loved the fried seafood dinner and the little sweet shops.

After all we did, I came away vaguely impressed by all the effort put in the maintain the history of the Pligrims, but I know I'll remember Plymouth simply as a touristy seaside town.

Perhaps.. I'm not very interested in this particular history of America? Or am I not very interested in history at all?

Coastal Road Trip

Had a interesting weekend...

went to Providence, RI and Plymouth, MA on Saturday...quite fun...reminded me of the weekend road trips P and I took in Seattle and Vancouver. Driving for ages, and walking around in foreign yet familiar cities. Especially the drive back in the sunset, reminiscence of the drive back from Vancouver, both highways and skies awash in gold and burgundy.

Sunday was spent relaxing at home in the morning, then went to the Mayfair at Harvard Sq in the afternoon. It was fun, carnivalesque in a way. White tents and free tasting and carousals for kids. There's the huge water-bed like thing that I used to love as a child. Alas, I can never play on it now. Dinner was at Porter, sushi rolls :)

All in all... a wonderful weekend... at the expense of P's Pacman, as he is fond to remind me :)

spring in cambridge

spring in cambridge, ma. Such an "alive" season... flowers blooming, a riot of colors everywhere...

beautiful days, the sky at its bluest, charles river glittering in the rays of sun, lawns of green, trees filled with white and pink blossoms. with a strong wind, its almost like snowing.

days here are... idyllic. being with the one person that pampers me beyond words...grabbed a bunch of books from the library on friday and spent the weekend doing nothing but reading... for those that know me... what more can I ask for?

a feeling of peace...

翠

夜露珠逸淡留香
翠卷屏后羞隐芳
托腮凝思心痕罔
雨落谁知雾是朗

生日快乐

今天是他的生日。想想，除了三年前那一次外，我们已经好几年没有在一起庆祝生日了。那时，我们其实都还没在一起。

记得，一次他生日时，我在北京给他写了封信做生日礼物。信中说，今天很重要，因为二十一年前的今天，世界上有了你。所以，我很感激。没有今天，我就没有你。

今晚，重看“金枝玉叶”。一直都很喜欢戏中的歌曲《追》。今天听张国荣清唱时，却有一种特别的感触。每个人的一生，都在进取。但偶尔停下来的这分钟，你却挂念谁？一生都在追，追一些莫名其妙，自认重要的事与物。但，却可否曾想过，到底生命中，什么才是最重要？

我的这一生，什么最重要？

曾经有一个人，跟我说，我这一生赚再多的钱，也买不了跟你在一起的多一秒。为什么要离开你去赚钱呢？

话语从唇舌间掉落，转眼云淡风清。

平凡，也能开心。一切，只在于一个人的心。

生日快乐。

幸福

幸福该如何定义？一个如此抽象的东西，像云朵般，随着心情转变。像我，现在觉得马桶能抽水，有热水洗澡，能安安稳稳睡个觉，就是一种幸福。

而人心不足，明天我看到什么，想到什么，也许又会有不同的定义了。

许多人，都觉得我很幸福。偶尔，我也这样觉得。但其实，幸福会随着不同人的不同视角而有不同的诠释的。

三更半夜不得入睡，因为有作业不曾做完。这在某些人眼中，是种幸福。又在某些人眼中，是种痛苦。就看你如何去看了。

谁说幸福不是掌握在我们手中？可惜，这东西滑不溜湫，好难掌握。所以我们老想将自己的幸福交给别人，就算不幸福，也有个人好怪。

wonderful day

Today is a wonderful day!

I finished my thesis! corrections, biblio, word limit, formating, even the spine!!! All done. finito. at last!

Went out with my family afterwards for a celebration of sorts. Went to my brother's dance performance (but missed his performance by a couple of minutes. damm.) after which walked around milenia, went to the milenia 'waterfall' which I visited with jx once a very long time ago but never found again. Then it was sushi sushi sushi! Satisfied my sushi craving, cali maki, yum!

took a couple of very sweet photos of my parents by the waterfall. Sometimes, when I see my parents like this, I marvel at how *together* they still are... how they supported each other through the years...but too often, I see them quarrelling...

Why do we always forget the happy times and dwell on the bad memories? Perhaps, that's why we need photos like this... to remind us, how truly fortunate we really are...