passion

i have had a few interesting coversations during my trip to the u.s. with some of little prince's friends and ex-classmates.

one of his ex-classmate in bio-medical engineering has picked up tri-athelon after graduation. he practiced as an engineer for a couple years, but later got really into the sports and noticed there was no good servicing shops for tri-atheletes in his area, so he decided to open his own shop!







another one of his ex-colleague quit his job and just went travelling around the world for 8 months. he also happens to be a paint-ball player, to the extent that he would travel around the u.s. to compete in national championships.

we then met a couple people at his homecoming. one of them is a phd in chemistry, and is now working as a chemist for the government, researching solutions against bio-weapons. he looks absolutely like a geek, and almost impossible to talk in a layman language. but because he is so incapable of talking about anything other than his specialty, you can tell he is really into what he does.


another one is the pennsylvania campaign director for hilary clinton. he shared how he started working as a fund-raiser for the university, and later decided that at this juncture of his life, he could afford to do something that pays very little, but would be a lot of fun, so he decided to join pursue this opportunity to help clinton run.


this has really gotten me into thinking about my own passions. is there anything that i would like to pursue so badly that i would give up my day-time job? or better yet, turn my passion into my job. i grew up doing everything that a parent in hk would like their kids to do, so i studied (though not bright, i got by), i played musical instrument (never really enjoyed it but i did that for 10 years), i sang, i entered the local inter-school competitions, i won sometimes, i graduated with reasonable grades, and got myself a decent job. but this is not quite satisfying as i would have imagined.

i wish i could find something that i am passionate about.

overhearing

setting --
dinner at a fine-dining restaurant, with three tables in one room.
there are two middle-age couples at table #1, one 30-something married couple at table #2 (that's me & little prince), and one 20-something (don't know the status) couple at table #3.

here's the bits & pieces of the conversation at table #3 --

female: well, if you are serious about our relationship and our future, i think we should think about where we should live for the next 3-5 years. it is difficult when we are only seeing each other once in a while.

male: um...um....um....but if not for our relationship, where do you want to live?

me (thinking): man, you are obviously avoiding the question!!!

female: well, my mom said you should figure out what your plans are, and where you want to be first.

me (thinking): girl, wake up!!!! rule#1, never bring up your mom into this type conversation...sigh.

male: but where do you want to live? do you want to live in san francisco? or florida? or new york? what life style do you want?

female: i dunno. it depends on what the grad school programs there are. (still persisting) so, where are you planning to do your fellowship?

male: um...um...um...i think stanford would be pretty good. well, but cornell can be a good place too.

me (thinking): wow, you are suggesting two places in totally opposite direction! so you want to go to the east coast when she says she wants to stay on the west coast?!

sommelier: sir, would you like another bottle of wine? or would you like me to bring you a wine list?

me (thinking): ha, smart! saved his life!

conversation continued at table #3 around the same topic for the entire dinner! (though he tried hard to switch the subject to the great food...)

with no surprise, table #3 finished dinner first (well, i guess the male diner has been looking forward to the end of this whole thing). the male diner has asked for the sommelier after paying the bill (?), to thank and tip him personally (ar huh).

here's the conversation at table #1 as soon as they left the dining room but still standing at the door --

male #1: oh, i have never seen such a grabber! that girl was something!

male #2: yea, that was some conversation. poor guy, have to spend a fortune for dinner, and be mentally abused...poor guy.

conversation continued along the same line for another 5 minutes at table #1.

haha, i'm not the only one who likes overhearing conversation...

crescendo

prelude -- aqua

a location at the center of the financial district, a modern decor, together with fresh quality ingredients, the restaurant has all the ingredients to be a success. the combination of refreshing tastes was a delightful surprise during our lunch visit -- crab salad with a curry-poppy seed vinaigrette.

what astonishes me was that at this restaurant renowned for seafood, i have had possibly the best foie gras in my life. simply prepared with a berries reduction.

interlude -- chez panisse

how come i didn't go to berkeley? well, if i had, this would have been my favourite restaurant on campus. at this birthplace of california cuisine. atmosphere was casual with an open kitchen and friendly staff. using freshest ingredients grown in the not-too-distant sonoma, at a reasonable and affordable price, it was my best value-for-money pick from this trip. they serve a daily menu created with what they get from the farm, according to the waiter, the menu has never been repeated. impressive. oh, i am still dreaming about that asparagus.

finale -- the french laundry

it is definitely more than food and wine, it was a pilgrimage, an emotional experience -- from the disappointment of failing to make reservation months ago, to the excitement of securing a table the day before we take-off, leading to the ultimate satisfaction at the end of the evening.

it was everything one would have expected from this restaurant, and much more. we started the evening with the famous oysters and sturgeon caviar, and ended dinner with a delightful desert -- dijon mustard ice-cream. too bad, we did not get a chance to meet chef keller when we toured around the kitchen at the end of dinner. no words could describe how thankful i am for every moment that i could enjoy such fine food and had the best company to share these experiences for years to come.

"So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun. " ~ Ecclesiastes 8:15

teenagers -- part 2

surprise surprise! i'm still helping out with youth group in church!

for a while, i thought it was really tough. i'm so much older than them, there is at least 5 generation gaps between me and them, not to mention we are culturally quite different. but when i saw them last sunday, having come back from a short mission trip in the philippines, and how god has changed their hearts, i'm really thankful!

i have always been hesitant about going on short-term mission trip. guess it's because i always think about efficiency, and short-term mission trip seems like a whole lot of work without being very effective. it's almost impossible to build a relationship with someone local within a few days (or so i thought). guess i never thought about the impact on the person who go, it has been life-changing for many of the teenagers who went, and i could totally see the change in them! thanks be to god!

i should seriously consider going next year, though i'm sure it will be exhausting, i'm sure the rewards will be much greater.

Sign of age

I'm now sitting in the lounge, waiting for the announcement that I can board on the plane to go home from New York. Well, to be honest, with the horrible ice rain and the well-known JFK delay, I am not hopeful that I will get out on time. I just want to board, so I feel like I am on my way home.

It's not the first time I fly round the world in a week, but this time, I really feel I have aged. Jet-lag is worse than ever, waking up at 3am to watch TV. By the second day of my trip, I already wanted to go for a bowl of rice, and so I did -- went to a Japense restaurant to get a bowl of miso soup and a nice steamy rice. In the past, I never quite understood why Chinese tourists would go to Chinatown for food. There are so much good restaurants to try out, why go for a General Taso's chicken in some random Chinese resaturants? But the thought of having a hot soup and steamy rice just made me feel so much better. I guess I am homesick more easily now.

Weather in London and New York at this time of the year is not something to look forward to. It gets dark at around 4pm, which made me feel miserable. I passed by university students who were excitedly going out to have fun, but I just wanted to go back to the hotel room to watch TV. It feels so much more secured in the heated hotel room. I thought to myself, if I had a choice again, would I have the courage to leave home to study in a totally foreign place? Probably not. I certainly don't think I can move to another city now.

I guess being reluctant to change is really a sign of age. I am very tired, I do hope I can sleep throught the 20-hour flight. Keeping my fingers crossed that the flight will fly tonight.

teenagers

everyone who knows me should know that i am really bad at dealing with kids, but somehow after a long conversation with a friend, i feel that i should give it a go and help out with the church's youth group (age 11-17).

teenagers are really a different species, they seem to be living in a totally different world where they don't talk to anyone who is not their age, they could wear long sleeves and gloves in this horribly hot weather (so they could look "cool"), they could spend their lives with ipods all day long... i can't recall what i was like when i was at their age, i bet i was the same.

i couldn't quite figure out what to say to them, most of them don't seem to be interested in christiany, it seems like they are coming to church just because their parents are forcing them to. when i volunteered myself to give a testimony, i didn't know what i was thinking. but i remember the other helper was telling me that i only need to be real to them, so i openly shared an experience of absolute helplessness and god's healing at the end.

i don't think they were particularly interested in my sharing, but i was very encouraged at the end, just because they have finally given me some signs of feedback -- be it a smile or a good-bye on our way out of the church.

WITJ?

WWJD (what would jesus do?) became popular in the 90's, especially around campuses in the US. Many use the motto for all sorts of accessories, including cuff-links, bracelets, bumper sticker. today, i had this sudden idea of WITJ (what if that's jesus?).

i was having a chat with a few friends from church, and as we talked about the difficulty in reaching out to people from a different background, a lot of times those who are less fortunate, perhaps less educated, i often fail in caring for them. i admire my friend who gave shelter to a complete stranger who had no place to stay, i know deep in my heart that no matter how much i say i should love my neighbors as myself, i know i would never invite a complete stranger to my home. but "what if that's jesus?"

i have been volunteering at a homeless shelter for a few years, many times i don't know how to talk to them, sometimes, i don't even feel like shaking hands with them, not to mention sitting next to those who refuse to take a shower. while i know what i should do, and i know in my head "WWJD" in these situations, sometimes i find it difficult even to try to reach out, especially when i am exhausted from my mon-fri work. i really feel like sitting at home, in front of the tv, or even just dosing off in my comfortable air-conditioned living room, watching discovery travel and living. but "what if that's jesus?"

i don't have an answer, i don't know how to balance all the different considerations, but i hope i can get myself more involved in serving others.