Category Archives: Witness to my life

Walt Whitman (1819-1892): The Runner

I am a runner and an inapt pupil of poetry. The runner, not this mid-aged over-weight one, is so vivid that I can almost hear his pant and feel his body heat. On a flat road runs the well-train’d runner, … Continue reading

Posted in Witness to my life | Tagged , | 2 Comments

CalTech Kid

“So you went to CalTech?” Asked the bartender, glancing the emblem on my baseball hat. “Oh, no. I am not that smart,” I replied. “My kid did.” “I heard they are, like, #2 or #3 in the world in something.” … Continue reading

Posted in Witness to my life | 1 Comment

吃的日记

回北京前说要如此这般,飞机六点下地七点多进酒店,外面是刺骨的负5度,两人相望,“你要吃什么?”好像没家可以够值得出门的。商量已毕,全身重冬装备,两人硒硒嗦嗦,走了15分钟,进了亮马河边的印度小厨。点了烧鸡,Masala羊,印度豆腐,当然一堆的Nan及Parota,吃得不亦乐夫。精神和吃饭前完全不同了。 第二早上睡到日头,行步走到Kempinski的面包房,咖啡,面包,汤,甜点,当然是早午饭一起就打发了。下午办完事回到酒店后两人都累了,也没有太多与北京冬天奋战的心情。就下楼到酒店的西餐厅,打五折,不贵。做的挺好,服务也行。是个补充精神的一顿。 一夜无事,起来后中午有个茶宴,朋友问起,“回北京后吃了什么了?”我们厄然以对,头三餐居然没一顿中国菜。于是乎晚上大伙齐集日檀边的宏源涮肉,满桌的菌菜牛羊,一打烧饼,大大过瘾一番。回家一秤,重了4斤。 又个老北京朋友来电要请客,指定我选餐厅。想想说“川办”,居然北京还有我说得出的餐厅他们没吃过的?带了个孩子来,把菜单的都点完了。孩子一面吃一面叫好,一群人吃到撑,还带走了一大口袋。我们又聊到五点才散,回到酒店倒下就睡,八点才起来去鹿港小镇随便吃,加了个冰山。 过了两天,她说,“我们总要吃次鼎泰丰吧。”两人一车到东直门店,当然点了特色小笼,还有素饺,蟹粉小笼,蛋炒饭,芝麻包。这餐厅不是要不要来吃的问题,而是要吃几次的问题。 离京前的最后一餐,定了苏浙汇。目的是鲥鱼,其他菜也美味可口,干拌面尤其爽口。 上了飞机,她说,“你居然没吃烤鸭。” 奇怪,想都没想呢。

Posted in China, Tour guides, Witness to my life | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Street Banking

Here in China, company’s cafeteria serve three meals a day at very reasonable prices. Since other options are not really more attractive, it becomes a popular dinner solution. Employees usually leave work around 8pm after the meal. On this day, … Continue reading

Posted in China, Witness to my life | 3 Comments

Loma Prieta memory

Yes. That was a jolt, I stood up quickly, walked to the office door, and waited. Earthquake Center: A light earthquake occurred at 10:09:35 AM (PST) on Thursday, January 7, 2010. The magnitude 4.1 event occurred 11 km (7 miles) … Continue reading

Posted in Witness to my life | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Resolution

This entry is about new year’s resolutions, particularly the one I made for 2008. Like many of you, I resolved to exercise more. Specifically, I set the goal to work out three times a week. Also like many of you, … Continue reading

Posted in Witness to my life | 2 Comments

初到深圳

初看深圳,感觉和北京上海没什么不同,一样的大街,靓丽的大楼,购物中心有国际级的奢华品牌。说起来,和东京,纽约,旧金山,洛杉矶也没什么不同。高挡公寓冲天而立,遥望城景海水。旧住家区,像旧金山的中国城:矮楼,小店,邻居。但深圳气候温暖,多了许多青青大树。深圳君悦(Grand Hyatt) 今年底开张,肯定了它的商业重要性。 深圳的“关外”,是指经济特区的分界点。香港回归后,这“关”只是虚设的个历史结构罢了。但关外比较不繁华,治安也差些。龙岗区的坂田村,几年前是农地。今天已是个新兴的边缘城市。看来是个炒楼的战略地点。 遥望香港,真是此一时彼一时,回归前和今天,天壤之别。深圳边现在一样繁华,只是空间多了太太多。朋友住在海边的高楼,能收到香港的手机和电视讯号。有通行证的深圳人,十五分钟能到中环购物,人民币一样好使。香港居民也几乎可以自由来去。想想为什么要忍受五倍以上的房价挤在香港呢? 深圳市基本上都是外地人,文化上不能说是广东。看看餐馆,比比都是川湘菜,粤菜还少些。特别找了几家粤菜馆子,口味也一般。可能香港的粤菜还正宗地道。不是说深圳的餐馆不好,其实档次颇高的,环境,口味,服务都不输上海北京。只是没有传统本地菜。 大概因为不是个观光城,没有看到北京的秀水街,上海的襄阳市场这种外销卖点。倒是高挡超市不少。也有好几个高挡消费区,看电影,购物,吃饭,喝茶聊天,区内走走就到。问了几个深圳人休闲做什么,都答不出来。想来没有什么休闲的观念。工余就是休息罢了。这是个今天在忙着赚钱的城市,慢慢他也会走出自己的文化出来的。

Posted in China, Witness to my life | Tagged | 1 Comment

Earphones

For years, I struggled to sleep on long flights to and from China. With many experiments, I nailed down the ambient noise to be the key culprit. That led to an iPod investment and the quest for a good pair … Continue reading

Posted in Books & Reviews, Witness to my life | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

SFO to ShenZhen 深圳

The trip to ShenZhen can be non-intuitive and a bit unnatural even for seasoned travelers. The spirit is to treat the ferry as an international connection that you will purchase the ticket after you have arrived Hong Kong airport. You … Continue reading

Posted in Tour guides, Witness to my life | Tagged , | Leave a comment

To China and Infinity

I came to silicon valley in the mid-80s. The valley was buzzing with energy. It took me two weeks to find a job, an entry level software programmer at a start-up company. The bosses talked about the big dream IPO … Continue reading

Posted in Witness to my life | 4 Comments