Snapshots

a string to connect pieces of my life

Saturday, July 28, 2007

random facts

I was tagged by Trudi. Though I don’t think I have anyone to tag, I am going to write it anyway. After all, it’s my blog.

So, eight random facts about me, eh? Another chance to take advantage of list:

1.Sometimes I get offended if someone says bad things about China. Sometimes I feel sad, like when I read the news about the products with poor quality bearing “made in China”. It’s like you see your brother do something bad, but he is still your brother. You wouldn’t want people to look down upon him because of the things he has done.

2.I enjoy playing tennis and watching a good tennis game. I feel pretty happy whenever I have chance to get into the court and play. But in general, I am not a sports person.

3.In high school, boys in my class hated me. They thought I felt too good about myself to talk to them, since I was the top student. God knew that I was simply shy. I am still not good at conversations if the other person is not talkative either.

4.I am a little obsessive compulsive. I accumulate a lot of things because I am afraid that I won’t have enough when I need them, which probably has never happened.

5.I like cute babies, but I don't know how to deal with kids.

6.For almost six years I refused to wear skirt because I felt my legs were too big. Now I know it’s not the case. I am pretty happy with the way God made me. A little bit more muscle would be better though.

7.I don’t understand completely what I am doing for my research or plain fluid mechanics. And I doubt anybody does. I think they are all imposters, maybe except a few geniuses.

8.I never thought I would become a Christian. Sometimes I still doubt if it's real.

Friday, July 27, 2007

all is temporary

Last week Ciara told us that her coworker's husband had been disgnosed cancer and asked us to pray for their family. This afternoon we were told that he passed away last night.

I have never met this person. But it happened so fast that I just can't believe it.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

lunch today

I had lunch with Jillian and Brian today. It's wonderful to see her again. We had a lot of good laughs. Also, I am impressed by her energy and spirit although she has to take pain-killer to suppress the unknown pain in her body because the surgery she just had failed to do the job.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

one sentence entry (per Jinli's request)

It's much easier for me to modify what I have written whenever I change my mind.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

science is hard!

from the Onion Network:

National Science Foundation: Science Hard

Study: Dolphins Not So Intelligent On Land

:)))

Monday, July 23, 2007

this blog thing

When I expected no one to read my blog was the time I felt the most peaceful about it. Once I view it as a way for my friends to show their affection, there would inevitably be some brokenness in my heart. That's why I took out the webstats for a while.

Now I am much more comfortable with the whole blog thing. I started it because I always enjoy writing. For my readers, thank you all very much for reading and for your comments! That's a bonus to me.

While I was saying this, I started to wonder why I am getting stressed by playing foosball. It should be 100% fun, just like blogging. Or maybe competition brings me stress, in general.

Surely I can adjust my perspective, but the realitiy is that in a lot of situations if you sit back and try to have some fun, suddenly you are out of the game and no one wants to play with you. It's difficult not to be sucked into the validation system.

I enjoy playing tennis a lot. But the thing is that it takes me a while to warm up before the game. Most peole don't have patience for that and would think I play poorly. And it leads to less practice for me.

Ok, I don't know where this talk is going. So I will stop here and add words to where they should be.

nothing special

Today's weather was terrific. I was playing tennis with my friends Ciara, Kevin and Phil this evening. As the sun went down, the sky was stunningly beautiful. When I drove home, I fully appreciated the cool breeze as I sweated a little after the game. It's such a perfect summer day!

My husband is in NYC for a seminar this weekend. It's funny that he was pretty excited by the fact that there is a beautiful park near his hotel which is a little crowded, while he wasn't aware there is this famous Central Park in the city. Well, I am just glad that he enjoyed being there.

I watched two movies during the weekend. One is "Ratatouille", and another is "Man on the moon". The first one is pretty good, sort of creepy though, if you are not very fond of rats. The second one is very interesting and got me to do a little serious thinking.

BTW, Jinli and I just bought the tickets for the Simpsons Movie premiere on Thursday night. Can't wait!

Saturday, July 21, 2007

"the gift of pain"

This is a book I am currently reading. Though I may not have the solid ground to say this, this book is absolutely fascinating! Brian read the book last year, and I believe he would agree with me on that.

Within the 50 pages I have finished, there are several times I can't help but say "wow...". So if you are bored and like reading, give it a shot.

In conclusion, we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Friday, July 20, 2007

somebody update!

I know I shouldn't complain about it because there is less distraction for me so that I can be more focused on what needs to be done. You know, the serious stuff.

But at least one of you should write something for me to read everyday. I command, if I may.

Monday, July 16, 2007

States I have visited

After this entry, I have been to four more states (Kansas, Texas, Florida and Iowa). Yay!



create your own personalized map of the USA

Which Areas of China Have You Been To?



create your own China map

Saturday, July 14, 2007

from time to time

I would think of Memphis. Maybe it's because I have been listening to country music and Memphis got mentioned quite a bit.

Besides Ann Arbor, this is the other city where I spent a large amount of my time (probably half year in total). I think it will always occupy a very special place in my heart.

So many memories. And they are not all about food. :)


(A picture of riverside walk and downtown Memphis stolen from Brian's blog)

Friday, July 13, 2007

my sweet baby



One morning. Conversation between my mom and my 7-year old niece.
My mom: "Tingting, why are your eyes so puffy?"
My niece: "Grandma, I think you look very pretty today, especially when you are smiling."

My little girl, did you know that your smile can melt my heart away?

Sunday, July 08, 2007

my first sports talk...well, not really

I know it might not be the greatest game ever, but it must be the greatest tennis game this year! I have liked Nadal since the first time I saw him play. He is only 21 this year, but you can see that he is ready to be the king. When Federer said he was glad that he could still win before Nadal takes over everything, he was not just being humble but also telling the truth. Morever, today was the seventh straight day for Nadal on the court and he made the game very rough for Federer.

The reason that I still wanted Federer to win is that he is such a great player that you can't help loving him. I cried after the final point. Federer was in tears too. As the reporter said, it was simply a privilege to watch them play. It was so good!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, five Wimbledon titles in a row for Roger Federer!

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

memories of Comerica Park

The first time I heard of Comerica Park was when Jia wanted to see Eminem there. He was having a concert with 50 Cents. I like Eminem's songs, but won't call myself his fan. But Jia is. So I saw it as an opportunity to hang out with her. And it wouldn't hurt to check off "going to a rap concert" from my list, though it was never on my wish list.

It was interesting that when I told Eric and Brian this news, they seemed totally shocked and worried. I didn't know why. Then they explained to me that it was not a great idea to go to a rap concert at Comerica Park at night. Well, too late. So Brian gave me the advice to follow the crowd and we managed to do that.

I don't remember many details of that night. Jia bought me potbelly for dinner but we had to finish before entering the gate. The concert was supposed to start at 7pm, but not until after 8pm did we see anyone on stage. Eminem showed his butt which I wasn't really interested in seeing. There was smell of marihuana in the air. We had drinks and chatted and joked around. It was fun.

Although I didn't think I would go to that place again, the truth is that you never know. A year ago Brian gave me a link to a blog written by his sister's bestfriend. He thought I would like it and he was right about it. I loved how honest and sincere the author was while talking about her feelings, her family and friends, her struggles and pains. There were so many times I felt she was telling my story in a way I was unable to express myself. Her name is Trudi.

So after a while, I started to leave comments. I wanted to do that much earlier, but was afraid she would get offended by random stranger saying something in her blog. Well, to my surprise, she wasn't. Instead, I was much encouraged. This is probably why her readers can see a lot of comments from me. Another reason is that I can't help it. Her writing is excellent. She is diligent. Plus she is always honest and passionate about life. All of the above makes her my favorite blogger.

Ok, back to Comerica Park. Last weekend Trudi came back to Michigan to visit her mom. Since we became friends through our correspondence, we thought it would be great if we could meet face to face like some sort of blind date. We came up with a few options. She wanted me to go watch the baseball game with her at Comerica Park. Then here is the problem. Sports is not where my passion lies in. Let alone that this time I had to drive to downtown Detroit by myself.

However, I did want to meet her. And Trudi offered Brian and his girlfriend to come with us, so I actually didn't have to drive (thanks, Brian!). So Brian drove from Ypsi, picked me up at Ann Arbor, and then picked up Demoree at Wixom, and then picked up Trudi at Royal Oak, and then four of us drove together to Comerica Park.

It amazed me how many people would put down whatever they need to do on a Thurday afternoon to sit there for a few hours watching baseball. The number was over 37,000. As for what happened in the game, you can check out both Trudi's and Brian's blogs. The bummer is that I missed the first and probably the only home run I could experience in my whole life. But I did learn quite a bit about the rules.

I am not sure if I wanna watch another baseball game, but it was definitely awesome that I got to see Trudi and we had chance to talk besides her trying to pouring baseball knowledge into my sports-free brain. Also, I was able to hang out with Brian and Demoree and visit where Demoree works. And Brian gave me a little tour to some town I have never visited before.

It's all good.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

places I wanna visit

1. Santorini, Greece

This place is simply as beautiful as a dream.

2. Venice, Italy
I don't know why, but Venice is the most romantic city in the world.

3. California's wine country
I am a fan of this movie. And I like alcohol.

Monday, July 02, 2007

lighten it up

I decide to have a picture post to remind myself of some summer joy. Also, I would like to take an advantage of list again.

1. barbeque



2. summer rain



3. cute babies


4. fat bird
(after I took the pictures, the bird attempted to fly away, but she fell straight down instead, which gave me some giggles.)