Life is like ...

I went to GrX CAM (Creative Arts Ministry) meeting last night, and they were brain storming on the phrase "Life is like ... " using metaphors.

I immediate remembered the phrase from Forrest Gump: "Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get." or the comparison with a bottle of wine in the movie "Sideways".

Life is like a cranberry muffin
Some parts sweet, some parts tart,
Infused with the occasional cranberry red surprises!
There's the high "top", and the low "stump"
At the end, it's still the most desirable.

Life is like a #2 pencil,
without a point,
you're just left with a long dull stick!

Some excellent metaphors quoted from "A Whack on the side of the head: How can you be more creative" by Roger Von Oech:

- Life is like a bagel.
It's delicious when it's fresh and warm,
but often it's just hard.
The hole in the middle is its great mystery,
and yet it wouldn't be a bagel without it.

- Life is like a banana. You start out green and get soft and mushy with age. Some people want to be one of the bunch while others want to be top banana. You have to take care not to slip on externals. And, finally, you have to rip off the outer coating to get at the meat.

***- Life is like a poker game. ***
You deal or are dealt to. It includes skill and luck.
You bet, check, bluff, and raise.
You learn from those you play with.
Sometimes, you win with a pair or lose with a full house.
But whatever happens, it's best to keep on shuffling along.

- Life is like cooking. It all depends on what you add and how you mix it. Sometimes you follow the recipe and at other times, you're creative.

- Life is like a jigsaw puzzle, but you don't have the picture on the front of the box to know what it's supposed to look like. Sometimes, you're not even sure if you have all the pieces.

- Life is like a room full of open doors that close as you get older.

What do you think life is like?

bugs, bugs everywhere but not one that we can swat..

This is something that my Chicago software lead engineer wrote to us while working late nights.. (I have to admit, he's funny  =)

Hoping that Robert Frost won't turn in his grave....

       1  Whose bugs these are I think I know.
            2  His cubicle is in MPK14 though;
            3  He will not see me stopping here
            4  To watch his bugs crash up the Chicago

            5  My little horse must think it queer
            6  To stop without a farmhouse near
            7  Between the bugs and hung Chicago
            8  The darkest evening of the year.

            9  He gives his harness bells a shake
           10  To ask if there is some mistake.
           11  The only other sound's the sweep
           12  Of front IO fans and the hum of monitor.

           13  The bugs are ugly, dark and plenty.
           14  And I have promises to break,
           15  And bugs to crack before I sleep,
           15  And bugs to crack before I sleep,
~

*** Potential ***

Just got off the phone with a very close friend, and he said to me:

"Winnie, you are a smart girl, don't get caught up in things like money and other stuff, utilize your potential!"

I have to admit that in recent years, often times I feel very lost, that I don't have a clear direction in life and few personal goals. First I need to figure out what I am good at, and what can be made into a stable career, and what I want to achieve! No, he didn't even mean to say that only about my career, but he sees the potential in me, that it is applicable to a lot of things. And I need to do my best to *become*, and push my talent to the limit at whatever I do, whatever I do in life!

Thank you for the great advice, I am determined, this time, I will listen!

Tour de "Lance"

This morning as I was driving to work, I tuned into my favorite radio station NPR.

The topic of discussion was on Lance Armstrong, that some French newspaper accused him of doping in the 1999 race when he won his first Tour de France championship. The talk show had some very objective guest speakers who stated that since the evidence is not bullet-proof, it basically comes down to a "beauty is in the eye of beholder" situation, with the fault line divided right down the Atlantic ocean.

Now everyone who know me knows that I am not a sports fan and nor do I follow any news in that arena. However, I have heard about Armstrong's glorious accomplishment, of him going on to win 7 consecutive Tour de France races after cancer recovery. Supposedly, he asked the crowd before the 2005 Tour de France, "do you believe in miracles?"... And being a pious follower of Christ, I think I do. I think for me it is not so much if the evidences proved one way or another, but more importantly, the story of Armstrong's professional atheletic career sets a shining example for millions of others. It instills inspiration into other atheletes and gives hope to the cancer patients under treatment. And for the rest of us Americans? Puts a proud smile on our faces to know that the race has a nickname of "Tour de Lance"! =)

PDL - Again

I have read PDL ("Purpose Driven Life") at the end of last year as a part of small group study with Overflow. At the time, I was several chapters behind and had to rush through it because I joined late. Given the publicity the book had received during the hostage situation in FL(?), I thought the book was well written and an easy read.

Last week, as I was trying to find some bed time reading materials, I picked it up again because honestly I didn't remember much specfic details. This book is organized centering around 5 themes relating to exploring God's purpose for us on this Earth, and they are further broken into 40 short essays aimed for daily read. I am already on Day 3 as of tonight, and I have to admit that second time around, I am having a much better understanding and deeper insights. I guess that's why people re-read the Holy Bible over and over again. (Personally, I've read "le petit Prince" countless number of times already =)

Kathy's last BDay of her FABULOUS 20s!

Last night, I hosted Kathy's 29th bday celebration at Tamarine in Palo Alto.

The biggest worry beforehand was concerning the fluctuating number of people coming. Right before I left for PA, I noticed the RSVP # went up to 17!

Let's see who's there: (in seat order)
Alan, Wendy, Larry, Kathy, her cousin, her aunt Evelyn, Jing, George, Ray, me, Shaohong, Larry Chao, Lori, Chris, Philip, Kathy's co-worker Janet, Ronnie

The MIT alumni community is indeed quite small, people either know or knew of each other. I am glad to see that so many of my friends mingled and had great dinner conversations. Surprisingly, nothing to nerdy came up (maybe a different crowd =) but the most hotly discussion topic is CA real-estate. Kathy's aunt is an experienced real-estate agent, so her opinion is eagerly sought after..

I have already realized how precious my friends are after my month long expedition to Mongolia/Korea. I am so grateful for my small circle of close knit friends, who understand and are supportive. Most importantly, I think we all share a similar value system, and that's an important bonding factor. However, I am also looking forward to build up a Christian community of friends so I can share the spiritual aspect of things with.

After dinner, I figured that we'd actually paid ~$76 for the Chinese cake!! (it was a really pretty/delicious fresh mango cake from Milpitas Sq.). But I don't think I am going back to Tamarine for another birthday party, and others beware, don't eat your cake there! =)

(pictures to be uploaded ..)

To perm or not to perm?!

that's the question..

First of all, some personal changes. After years of resisting any major changes to my hair, I have finally decided to get a perm. Along with that comes the highlights. Now, I have done highlights before in bold colors (those of you who know me back in 2003 might remember me with pretty red highlights), but since then I have resorted to the conservative "healthy" color along with the straight layer cut.

So I even surprised myself when I agreed to a highlight plus perm treatment by my stylist last weekend. The result?! You be the judge! So far I like the change, and the effort to take care of this style is minimal thanks to my educational stylist. (if you want a referal, email me =)

how much do YOU Care?

-- the following is borrowed from a friend's blog entry:

"People don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care" author: Unknown

I thought this was a great reminder for our daily lives. We all have our own gifts and talents that benefit others but whether we are at work, church or in our personal lives, it seems that we get so caught up and focused on the task that we tend to forget the relationship aspect of the situation. I know i am totally guilty of this, so for this month, i'm going to try, keyword: TRY to focus more on the relationship aspect of things while doing the task on hand.

Anyone care to join me?