Dad'scaretakerwas71-year-oldMr.Zhao,atough
restlessex-farmerandfitasafiddle.Hiswife
(20yearsyounger)workedthesameprofession.
Whenshedidn'thavework,shewouldaccompany
himatdad'splace.Theywereneitherrichnor
beautifulandhadhadmorethantheirshareof
miseryandsuffering.Buttheywerecontent,
appreciativeofeachother,andfulloflife.
Duringmystay,thecouplecamearound...[
阅读全文]
IwaslookingforanironfortheclothesIwas
abouttowash.Dadimmediatelypointedtoa
cabinetwherehekepttheonemomhad.Themoment
feltalmostmagicbutIopenedthedoorandthere
itwas,the400W220V1986Egret,initsoriginal
box.Untouchedbytheyears,itbroughtbackall
thememories.
Thosedays,momwasalaborerinastate-owned
restaurantbutonthesidelinesheworkedtobea
tailorandhadbigplans.Later,sh...[
阅读全文]
Iwasfatandweakfromkindergartentoearly
collegeandmostPEactivitieswerehardforme.
Everysemester,Ihadtotrytomeetseveral
standards(Idon'trememberenjoyinganyoneof
them)andthepullupwashighonthehatedlist.
Lookingback,itisobviousthatthepullupis
importantenoughforcountriestomakeit
mandatoryinPE.
CollegewasbetterasThePowersThatBefinally
sentweight-losshormonesandIgo...[
阅读全文]
Overthepastyears,Ihavebeenimplementing
thesethreeideasarticulatedsowellbyMichael
Pollaninhisbook"InDefenseofFood."Here'sa
reportonmyexperiences.
First,somebackground.Attheageof40,obese
andpre-diabetic,Istartedtocountcaloriestolose
weight.Thatandthedailyonehourfastwalk
helpedmetolosethefirst40lbs.Itwasinthe
processIdiscoveredPollan.
Soon,Izoomedin...[
阅读全文]
IfirstvisitedSFinAugust2000asasummerintern.
Forfourmonths,Irentedabedina2ndfloorliving
roomatacorneronwestNoriegaSt.Everymorning,
Iwouldrideabustotheeastendofthecityand
hopontoCalTraintoworkinMillbrae.Comingback
thesameroutewouldtakeanother1.5hours.During
weekends,I'deithergotoworkorreadatthe
Border'sbookstore(longgone)atStonestown.Atthe
time,languagewas...[
阅读全文]
Incollege,IrememberedseeingonTVagirl
doingyogabythesea.Itwasofcourseno
usetome,Ithought,andjustsomeexotic
calisthenicsfromaremotepeoplewhom
XuanZangthemonkdraggedhisfeetformany
yearstovisit.Iwouldnevermeetthem(Wrong!).Itwasmuchmoreprofitable
formetopouroverbooksandpasstests.
(MaybeIwasright.)
Fast-forward20yearsofpassingtests,
pouringoverbooks,andcomputerprog...[
阅读全文]
Wejoinedthedowntowncrowdataround1:30pm.
Afterseeingseveralkids'gamesneartheentrance,
Timdecidedtowalkaroundabitbeforepartingwith
hisdollars(Hebrought$13andIgavehim$20).
Wehadagoodtimeatthebooths.Onecouple
carvedseaanimalshapesoutofwood,matchingthe
material'soriginalcolorandshape.Someofthem,
e.g.,anoctopusfromtherootsofatree,were
veryimpressive.Atanotherpl...[
阅读全文]
After30iterationsofSuryaNamaskara(SunSalutation),
IescortedTimoutofthehouseataround7:10am.His
weightwentupthismorningandwedecidedtohikethe
MissionPeakinsteadofourusualweekendwalkor
skate-boarding.
Itwasafoggymorningandperfectforhiking.Thestreet
leadingtothetrailheadwaspackedandwehadtopark
fartherdowntheroad.Theclimbwassteepbutwewerein
goodshape.Onerunnerpassedb...[
阅读全文]
Afteronehourofsmoothdriveand30minata
Starbucks,Iarrivedatasmallgyminatownto
thenorthofSanFrancisco.Ataround8:25am,
moststudentswereonthematsstretching.I
checkedinwithRicatthefront.Heappearedin
hisearly40sandwasshort(about5'5"),dark,
andverymuscular.Hehadafriendlysmile.
Thestudentswereayoungpersonaltrainerfrom
MountainView,a40-somethingfiremanwho
pr...[
阅读全文]
Putalidonanythingmadefromwhitericeandwheat
flour.Youwentthroughsomeleanyearswhenyou
weresmallandwhenanythingwhite,riceorflour,a
delicacy.Thememoryhasbeenindelible.Butit's
timetostoplettingyourtastebudstellyouwhattoput
inyourmouth.Useyourbrain.Don'tletthebig
dreamstellyouthatthemundaneisunimportant.
Lifeisineverydayunsexydetails.Sopayattention.
Ifyouthinktheab...[
阅读全文]
