Day 210

August 7, 2009.


Elevator at 595 Market.

Day 207

August 4, 2009.

Health Day planning meeting at Hope Lutheran Church, San Mateo.
View from the stairs.

Day 203

July 31, 2009.

More pigeons... it comes from working in the city. :)

Day 154

June 12, 2009.


Tomorrow is my sister's birthday.

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These shots show some of the excitement and movement that come with living in Berkeley. I took the first at a Bay Area Chapter Red Cross banquet luncheon that I attended with my supervisor and fellow intern, shown here. The Red Cross partners with the CCHRC in putting on its youth programs, so we return the favor and support their project, called Youth for Chinese Elderly (YCE). The next shows a lilac bush I saw on a walk, after work. The last two are from my swim (the gym hallway) and Thai Basil, my favorite restaurant in Berkeley.

Day 153

June 11, 2009.

I fear that I'm changing from the first picture into the second; from a living, breathing being into no more than a white absence. I've always been attached to practicality. I study, to go to school, I intern, to go to work. But I've never really asked if that end goal's what I wanted. "Work," I mean. The 9 to 5 professional part, I mean. Maybe I'm not meant for it-- I don't enjoy the setting. I've got much to ponder over, and at least so long as I'm pondering I haven't disappeared into boringness quite yet. 

Day 150

June 8, 2009.

An eclectic mix of photographs today, just like the eclectic mix of events that took place. From writing grants to finding new ones, helping an 85 year old Chinese man find his way to foot surgery and eating at a Vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown, the day flew by. I guess I can kiss boredom goodbye and say hello to business.

Day 149

June 7, 2009.

I did not take these shots; rather, I'm translating their captions and background story for Chinese Digital Times. They're about two suspects who hit a motorcycle, then had no license or ID and may have stolen their nice new car. I've been looking at other people's photographs lately because I think I need some inspiration. To keep myself creative and thinking in a more interesting manner. Wish me luck.

Day 147

June 5, 2009.

The week passes quickly when you work eight hours a day. Here are some shots from work: the view from the top building of the Chinese Hospital; a picture of a photograph from 1924, when the hospital was founded; and the view from my daily BART ride home. I'm glad it's Friday. My boss, at least, is very accommodating. Somehow sensing how drained I felt at 4:40 today, she gave me $10 and told me to go out and buy some dim sum for us. I've also learned how to say "cup" (bui), "window" (cheung), "bathroom" (qi suo / sei sou gang), "phone" (dim wah) and "What is your name?" (gway sing). Progress, and something sure to come in useful...when I watch 陈奕迅 music videos in Canto! All in all, I value the relationships I'm making with my co-workers and supervisors, and if I keep paying attention I should leave learning something, I hope.

Here's to hoping.

Day 146

June 4, 2009.

Sometimes this is what I feel like I'm becoming; an image, a ghost, quite transparent and (as a result), barely there. Maybe more dialog will help.


The shots below show the city on another one of my lunch tours. The last shows some books I browsed through and want to follow up on.

Day 145

June 3, 2009.

10 days to my sister's 25th birthday.
Work went smoothly today, I'm itching for more interesting projects but need to prove myself responsible enough first, I guess. 我要学习生气发泄。不能只让自己在心里无限地烦恼，反而要联系真正的，健康的承认自己是可以生气的人，要学到生气的好处。最近读的书其实很容易影响我的，哈。加油。。。

These are shots from my lunch break from Schwartz. Most people I've talked to eat lunch at their desks; looking at the sunlight outdoors, I can't understand why. Finally, I'm trying to ward off at-home blues, so treated my friend Henry to a home-cooked meal and got Ici's icecream in return. A pretty good deal, all in all. I need more hobbies so I don't have to stay at home and 一直听着爱尔兰人的口音和喝酒的疯狂。好难过哦！哎呦！

Day 144

June 2, 2009.

Work is looking up. Here's my cup of sunlight and my new Chinese Hospital I.D.

我也不想回家来。太多人，太吵了，太极了，太乱--太这样，太那样。也许我是思想中的什么不满意，想逃避，不想想，财政天这么忙，跑来跑去就没时间想了，对不对？我这么说是因为今天坐车的时候读了一本书，叫做 Prisoner of Childhood，Alice Miller 作者。她的理论，简单地说，是我们每个人小时候学到了隐瞒我们生活中的困难，实际的感觉，实际的看法等等，为了让父母，老师们高兴。长大了以后才发现，连自己的真正的看法和感觉都不认识了，而不晓得怎么去追求或寻找自己的谁。

现在来想呢，我不就是这样吗？我从前写了日记；后来不写了。现在问我为什么，就是因为我不爱承认自己生活里有不满意的事，有时不大高兴，有时答案真的不晓得。同时，我不高兴的时候不想见人，因为害怕他们看到我不高兴就不再理我了。很奇怪，这些心理学原则。。。

Day 143

June 1, 2009.

Chinatown, San Francisco. Today was my first day at work at the CCHRC, Chinese Community Health Resources Center. I wish that the work was as interesting as the title. I need to find some way to make this osition as vibrant as the life outside my building's doors (first three photos), instead of as abysmal as the view outside my window (last photo). Suggestions?