Quiet Time

I got to Miramar 20 minutes before 7 and decided to wait for F to show up outside. It rained earlier, so the air was so fresh. Monday evening, so it was very quiet. I took out my Mistress and started to listen to the radio, casually looking at people passing by. One girl looked at me, was confused, and walked over to me and asked if I was xxx. Nope, but obviously some one is on a blind date. The waiting turned out to be quite enjoyable and went by very fast.

I Love My Enemy

New company provides this snack, and I got hooked. Still am so afraid to check the nutrition facts, but I am sure if I have one of these, the 30 minutes' effort I spend that day on the treadmill will be flushed to the toilet. However, if I am in love, what can I say? One of the waffles and a cup of cherry fruit tea, hmmm, paradise.

Countdown

I turned in VSP (Voluntary Separation Package) application to HR today, and HR confirmed that is all they need to proceed with my exit process. HR then sent out an email few minutes later (so efficient) to inform all related divisions (IT, corporate service, finance, etc) that I will leave the company on July 11, so they'll remember to get the computer back, add the separation package to my July payroll. So the countdown has started to tick.

6 years in the optic communication industry, and it is time to end. Some coworkers get offer from the new company, and I can just keep my fingers crossed for them. The previous leader brought us to this corporate. I think this is the best thing that could happen to us. With less resource and more uncertainties in the new one, they just have to be more aggressive to make things happen as quickly as possible.

And for me? Well, I've got an offer and will be on board on July 14. Keep fingers crossed for me, too.

12

12 jurors are locked up in the gym to make the final decision if the defendant of a crime is guilty or not. It is final because there will be no appeal to the case, so the decision needs to be unanimous.

Since the director also plays one of the jurors, so my first impression before I watched this movie was that he will be the one who stands against the other 11 jurors, you know, the one who draws all the attention. Well, obviously the screenplay writer and the director are much smarter than I am when designing the plot, and to my surprise, the juror played by the director is the last one to change his mind.

I watched Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. In these 2 films, there are just coversations after conversations, talks after talks, but at least the actress is beautiful, the actor is handsome, and we get to see Paris. But in 12, no eyecandies, the scene is in the gym, it is interesting to see how the screenplay is written to give each juror time to show who he is, how the audience's attention is directed from one juror, to the bird trapped in the gym, each corner of the gym, how the jurors tried to rebuild the crime scene, and debates after debates. The director did a good job to make this movie interesting the whole time. This is the movie that I'd like to watch in the movie theater.

The defendant's dance is very appealing and beautiful. Somehow it shows the confidence, pride, and promise. He listens to the jurors at first, but gets cold so decides to do something to get warm. I am sure he ends up forgetting what is happening and is filled with joy.

Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge

The reason to watch this movie is Juliette Binoche. She always appears pretty and mysterious to me, but this time, she is a mid-aged mother with blond hair, and does not look like my stereotype of her. I feel I am so superficial writing this...

I have some problems with the red balloon, as I still cannot understand why the director spent so much time on the balloon. It is round, does not have any sharp edges or corners, only floats up and down in the movie. It seems to follow the boy wherever he goes, it may have some connection with the boy, however, it does not express any kind of emotion.

I thought of 2 movie clips. One is the opening of "Forrest Gump". It starts with the feather flying around. The feather could go high, low, spinning around, fast and slow, and it tells the audience where the story happens, and gives a quick look of the town. It finally rests on the main character, Forrest (or on the ground and Forrest picks it up?), and the story officially starts. It is quite fun.

The second is from Bleu (also starring Juliette Binoche) when Olivier finally finds Julie and they talk in the cafe. Julie picks up a cube of sugar and dips one corner in the coffee, and we see the sugar turns white from brown. I did not realize the details of this clip until I watched the special features of the DVD. The director spent time to find the right brand of sugar so the sugar absorbs the right amount of coffee in exact the amount of time he needs on the screen, and that clip, showing only the coffee and sugar on the screen, indicates that Julie is still absorbed in her own world, not paying attention to Olivier at all.

Some movies aim to entertain, to make money, but I am sure some directors want to create arts, and show their creativities. No matter what, they choose the footages carefully, and make them a complete movie to present to the audience. There are just too many clips of the red balloon that finally I uttered to myself, oh not again. I'd love to know interpretation from the director what kind of voyage he wants the balloon to express, and the significance of it.

MM is right though. Since at the end of the movie, it says it pays tribute to the French movie, Red Balloon, released in 1956. I should dig out the movie and watch it.

Porcelain

Porcelain

I don't know how I lost the photos of the porcelain. It used to be my wallpaper of my laptop, so it had to find somewhere on the hard drive, so it wasn't. I took photos again yesterday in the office, and this time I'll remember the photos are on my imac.

I did not throw the pot myself, but only carved the Chinese characters. It was very fun.

FIR

Beautiful song, and Feye is so beautiful.

Move

It is a hassle to move. You've gotta organize, pack, toss, and finally move. It will be a blessing to be able to hire movers. I did that before, and am really convinced that movers can be very professional.

I have moved so many times since I graduated from college. Now when I think about it, I can't even remember when exactly did I move.

1. June 1993, I graduated from college, did not get a room in the dorm, so had to find my own place to move out. It was just a room, with a desk, chair, bed, very simple closet, and nothing else.
   
2. 1994, luckily I got a room in the second semester, and moved back to the dorm. That 200 USD saving saved my life.
   
3. 1995, moved to Keelung, and stayed at the first place for 6 months.
4. 1996, moved again. That place did not require a lease, so we stayed there for like also 6 months.
5. 1997, moved to Badouzhi, located also in Keelung, and stayed there for a year. Still remember sharing the apartment with K and O. K was not really handsome, but very muscular in the way I like it. He has very good voice, and good Chinese pronunciation. O was very handsome, but snobbish. He thought he was better than anyone else, and he lived in PIGSTY. Before we moved out, the landlady asked him to scrub his toilet, otherwise she would not return the deposit. She told me the toilet looked so scary that she would not dare to clean it at all.
6. 1998, moved to Heping Island.
7. Febrary, moved to Hsin-zhuang. Stayed with E's family for a period of time while I worked in Linkou.
   
8. April 1999, moved to San Francisco.
9. October, moved back to Hsin-zhuang. Stayed at E's old house while deciding what to do next. Totally lost with a burden to take care of.
   
10. November 1999, moved to Santa Clara. Still remember I started to work the day after Thanksgiving weekend.
    
11. 2002, moved to a large apartment complex on Saratoga Avenue of Santa Clara. It was the most beautiful place I've ever lived in, with courtyard, pool, my cat, and all.
    
12. October 2003, moved back to Taipei and stayed with my brother. It was a hard time when I felt like my life was reset to 0. Huge pressure to start to a life, financially and emotionally.
    
13. 2004, got my own place. It was a very cheap and came with furniture, which I needed but later deemed as all trash. Greater financial pressure when I had to pay the bills on both sides. Was lucky to get offer from this current company. The salary increase alleviated the chance of living paycheck-to-paycheck.
    
14. May 2005, moved back to stay with my brother again. Life is reset to sub zero.

I always remember someone had told me he had to move in with his sister for a long time. Last year when I met J for dinner, he said yeah, that was he. He has always been consistently nice to me.

Now I know I may have to move twice in the near future, and am feeling so exhausted.

Dimma

This photo is from IKEA when I went to see furniture. This 'dimma' is actually a dimmer. It gives me a good laugh to see the model name is dimma.

Home

Keelung Heping Island

Finally I went back to Heping Island, a place I called home. It was very hot that day. I did not see many pedestrians on the street. No problem finding the place at all. It was like I had never been gone, although things do have changed a bit there, especially when 2 of my favorite restaurants were gone.

I've moved so many times over the past 10 years. It feels like every time I feel settled down in one place, and then I need to be ready to move again, with changes and changes and challenges ahead. I thought I would be afraid to come back to see this place again, only to realize that I have moved on and traveled so far. Home will always be there in my memory, with the layout and people it used to have, with the happiness and sorrows it requires to be complete. The desperation to ride the scooter through the dark night to be home, the reluctance to take the early train to work every Monday morning are still heart felt, however, I need to get myself ready for tomorrow.

Nice Painting

I went back to Tainan for the Dragon Boat Festival. Went through some of my books, and saw this one. Nice stories from a new writer about a town in late Ching dynasty where everyone in the town was a thief. One painting is included at the beginning of each chapter and they all look nice. I used my new camera (showing off now) to take close-up shot of the book, and the results look very nice.

Where Is The Spec?

I know WWDC will be held next Monday, and if Apple releases new iPhone, I can check their website and get all the spec, product introduction, and also watch the keynote for the product release right away.

What about the new product release from the much anticipated EEE PC? From the website, we only get the press release. That's all. Computex has started few days ago, and today when I checked Asus' website, well, EEE PC 901 and 1000 were still not there, as shown on the dated screenshot. I am sure some website system can be set up so some people can prepare the material for the new product ahead of time, set up a date in the server so when the time is up (the time when the product is released), and material will be published automatically on the website.

Apple had done a terrific job in the regard. When the product is released, customers get to know the product online right away, to order right away, or know the lead time if the product is not immediately available. Other companies should really learn from Apple.

Camille Pissarro

It was cool and rainy yesterday morning. I took half a day off to visit National Palace Museum for Camillo Pissarro's exhibit.

Very very quiet when I was there. Was surprised I did not have to wait in line to get tickets, and when I went in, it was like my private museum. Maybe National Palace Museum has not done a very good job at promotion or keeping the public informed, at least I've heard so many media talking about Jean-François Millet's exhibit at the National Museum of History. Not that I'm complaining to feel like owning the portraits for 2 hours, but I love impressionism, and do hope everyone would enjoy it too.

They provide very good audio tour. Because I carry headset for my cell phone all the times, so I rent a cell phone SIM card to access the audio service. All I had to do was to replace the SIM card on my cell phone, and punch in the numbers by the paintings to get the audio. It is a lot more personal and lighter than the regular humongous machine we normally get at the museums. That 100NT (around 3.3 USD) is so well spent, as they provide lots of useful information of the background the artist, the Barbizon, the Impressionism, and Pisarro's family.

I bought the book as souvenir. I never like replica of paintings very much, as I can always remember how much nicer the original looks like, and the replicas are just not the same. It's good that I go to this exhibit early, as I can always go back. Few weeks ago, I was just considering if I wanted to make a trip to New York before I start my new job, and the only firm agenda was to visit Metropolitan Museum. I did not make it to New York, but come on, Pissarro is just within reach, 20 minutes from where I live by taxi. And we have Millet's Gleaners and Angelus in Taipei now. I can't be more happier.

This exhibit also shows many of Pissarro's etchings, Jean-Francois Millet's etchings, letters, and paintings from Pissarro's family. It is so profound and, just simply amazing.

Vienna Teng

Michael recommended this artist to me, and I love her. Good music. Good voice, though I think she would sing even better if she has professional training, but then she may lose her originality. I don't know.

It is good to see her live video on Youtube. I also love "Between" and "Gravity", which are also available on Youtube. I actually bought 2 of her albums on Amazon. 7.99 each with no DRM vs 9.99 each with DRM on iTune. There is an easy winner. Her albums are good to listen to at night when the surrounding is quiet and silent. Her lyrics are also very well written. I am including Eric's song below. Why Eric, not Sean? Sean's song? Chanson? Wahaha.

-----Eric's Song----------------------

strange how you know inside me
I measure the time and I stand amazed
strange how I know inside you
my hand is outstretched toward the damp of the haze

and of course I forgive
I've seen how you live
like a phoenix you rise from the ashes
you pick up the pieces
and the ghosts in the attic
they never quite leave
and of course I forgive
you've seen how I live
I've got darkness and fears to appease
my voices and analogies
ambitions like ribbons
worn bright on my sleeve

strange how we know each other

strange how I fit into you
there's a distance erased with the greatest of ease
strange how you fit into me
a gentle warmth filling the deepest of needs

and with each passing day
the stories we say
draw us tighter into our addiction
confirm our conviction
that some kind of miracle
passed on our heads
and how I am sure
like never before
of my reasons for defying reason
embracing the seasons
we dance through the colors
both followed and led

strange how we fit each other

strange how certain the journey
time unfolds the petals for our eyes to see
strange how this journey's hurting
in ways we accept as part of fate's decree

so we just hold on fast
acknowledge the past
as lessons exquisitely crafted
painstakingly drafted
to carve us as instruments
that place the music of life
for we don't realize
our faith in the prize
unless it's been somehow elusive
how swiftly we choose it
the sacred simplicity
of you at my side

Gone for a Dance

The movie tells story of how passion for dancing passes down 3 generation, and in each generation the man abandons the family to pursue his passion. I am not quite certain if Guy, the second generation, abandons the pub he creates with the girl friend to pursue his passion though, because he has creates a happy life and good business with her, and he leaves everything behind right after his mother's visit.

Maurice commits suicide. Guy refuses to be found and stay connected with his own family. His son, Francois, has to verify Guy is his real father from Guy's ex girl friend. Francois wants his wife to think he is dead. When we feel shameful, it is always easy to just escape. The director chooses dancing as the incentive, but it can be anything, and it can happen to anyone.

There are a few dancing clips in the movie, and most were like shot for 3 minutes and only were included in the movie for 1.5 minutes, so they don't look complete and make me feel odd. The only dancing I like is when Guy and Francois dance together and Guy presents the audience with the new Gene Broadway (Francois). That is a successful and complete dance.

Laura Brown came to my mind. Laura is one of the 3 major characters in the Hours. She also abandons her family when her children are little. Nothing is mentioned how her husband deals with it and how the kids go through it especially when the husband dies quite early. It would be interesting to investigate that.