戊子年四月 春

親愛なる君へ :

持續了下好幾場雪後，低溫爆冷的天氣終於漸形漸遠！草皮上的新芽一大片一大片地竄出來，和月前雪堆裡枯萎發黃『菜乾』相比，真是令人感嘆造物者之功、自然界的生生不息！

天氣一暖起來，人心就蠢蠢欲動了！活力就來了！

那天看到一群學生在遊行，標榜『不要種族歧視，接受多元種族並存』！挺有衝勁的！校警車在旁緊緊地跟著，生怕鬧出意外事件！不用說，示威學生多半是黑人和南美洲人！
說實話，我支持多元種族並存！也確切感受過美國白人的歧視心態！他們這種自大且井蛙之見的心理，大部分來自封閉的「大美國」意識型態！眼界走不出去，自然會覺得世界就應該是繞著美國轉！這當然很迂腐、很可悲、也很可笑！但是不可否認，美國的強大，支配著很多看不到的不公平！
話又再說回來，小黑和小拉丁們自己也要爭氣！我沒有種族上的偏見！但是在美國，黑人們真的該自己好好檢討！就拿學校的電腦室來說，永遠是小黑們最吵，永遠是他們堆在一起看球賽、講手機！常常可以聽到黑人女生笑的很大聲！要是你跟他們好言相勸，有時還會被白眼！而且那種「白」是真的很白，因為他們膚色的關係！哈哈哈！
如果再蠻橫一點，他們就會擺出一付被歧視的樣子，跟你沒完沒了！見識過黑人女生吵架嘛！包你一句話都說不出來！…

真的，我真的沒有歧視他們！但在美國待了近三年，就連一個讓我覺得跟他相處起來舒服的黑人都沒有！那更別談成為朋友了！

Puppy of April: Clover

This cute little puppy is Clover. He is the mix of beagle and German shepherd. Judging from Clover's paws, bones, and teeth, I think he will become a strong big dog in the future. However, Clover may need extra serious training to fit in his keeper's life and become a good pet at home.

Why?

First of all, I notice that Clover walks always with his tail up. The shape of his tail looks like a knife when he walks and runs. This symbolizes and implies one of the good innate abilities that a hunting dog should have. I guess this comes from one of beagles' characteristics.
Secondly, Clover was not afraid of my staring at his eyes directly. He looked back to me calmly and did not avoid my eyes. This means that Clover thinks his position is the same as mine (or even higher than mine). He also showed his courage by looking back to my eyes.
Finally, Clover did not respond to my calling every time, but showed greater pleasure to go to his master (recognized in his mind). He just represented his loyalty and integrity.

I am not a person who has purebred-complex about dogs. I always believe good dogs need serious training no matter how noble their blood is. What I mean " serious training" here does not require every dog to be trained like a police dog. The training should satisfy the keeper's daily life, not causing troubles like frequent and loud barking. More importantly, well-experienced keepers or trainers will adjust "methodologies" according to dogs' temper, characteristics, and innate abilities.

Frank-Made Chinese Honeycomb Tripe

I was not being asked by the cashier in Wal-Mart: "What is this?" (Anchang said he was asked by the cashier last time!) Maybe most Americans do not know what the honeycomb tripe is. That's right…it's cow's stomach. Americans may wonder why we Chinese people almost eat everything with four legs!!! They problably think it nasty to eat animal's organs like honeycomb tripe. Just wait until you guys come to China, you will find more Chinese food FAR beyond your imagination...Hahahahahah…!!!

This pot of honeycomb tripe took me more than three hours. Look delicious!? Actually, I put too much sugar in the sauce that it tasted a little too sweet, not as what I have expected. Next time, I will use Coke as substitution for sugar because its sweetness is just fine and the color looks deeper. Am I coming closer to a chef!?

By the way, I learned how to preserve garlic with vinegar. Oh! You will never imagine how it tastes with dumplings. It's a chef's combination from God's inspiration. But the disadvantage is that you will have an awfully bad breath after eating garlic. Well, what the heck! Why should I care? It's not like I am having a date every evening or something! Those who will complain about my bad breath may be Sharon, Yoshiki, Anchang, and Nathan cause I hang out with them the most.

What!? So I eat too much garlic…SUE me!!! ^_^

美食音樂季

親愛なる君へ :

那天晚上John的確是露了一手！
看到沒！？自製大蒜麵包加上熬煮一下午的台灣牛雜，搭配美式沁涼酷爾思啤酒！...別懷疑，這是男人做出來的！

大蒜香、麵包外脆內軟 ; 相當入味的牛肚、多汁的香菇、還有暌違已久的滷蛋！和青蔥大蒜末一起夾起來！呴呴呴...這一盤在美國要賣一百元美金都要搶破頭！喔！當然，不可忘了啤酒！酒瓶標籤上的山，要夠冰才會變成藍色。也就是說，當貼紙上的山變成『藍山』，那就是最適合飲用的溫度！

要早知道有這鍋魯味，我會禁食兩頓，清個空胃來填這一餐！

隔天早上一醒來，就有個老外在樓下裝浪漫！活像個巴黎街頭的賣藝浪人！只可惜，背後的政治標語似乎不甚浪漫！倒像是歐巴馬請來助選的！我從窗台望下去，好好聽了一曲！其實還真不錯！就是場景不搭，旁邊那個看熱鬧的小子聽到最後竟然也沒丟個銅板！呵呵！…

我煮了杯咖啡，讀讀信，心想樓下還有人幫我奏樂！那天早上真是夠了！

J & B Blended Scotch

Justerini & Brooks blended scotch

If I remember correctly, I had this bottle in winter, 2004, in Taiwan. It was my beginner-level whisky, which can be categorized as the same level as Suntory whisky. But the difference is that Suntory is more mild and smooth, making peace with your tongue and nose. J & B is more like a young guy…always listen to rock & roll and like spicy food.

Maybe it's just because of the unique climate pattern in Scotland, I can taste the salty touch of J & B. Have you ever eaten pears or any kind of fruit with Chinese plum powder? The sweetness and sourness of the fruit will be blended by the plum flavor, and that makes a great combo. I think that's the spirit I can get from J & B.

Well, I know! I need to control the amount of whisky I drink every day. It's just I really had a hard time falling asleep this week.

I pray to God…please give me strength and wisdom to deal with all the difficulties in my life. I am pretty lost right now since I may not remember to forgive, to be considerate, and to give love. Give me some clues, please. And I will follow and learn.
Thank you…!!!

歲月

親愛なる君へ :

妳是否也像我一樣注意起臉上的皺紋、光澤以及斑點！
從2007年12月到今天，我買過大概十次酒，沒有一個店員檢視我的年齡證明！
呵呵！我換了好幾家店買，結果都是一樣的！
可見，他們沒有把我當作熟客，很純粹地從我臉上就可以判斷我絕對超過法定飲酒年齡！（在Indiana，法定飲酒年齡為21歲！）
還記得我剛來美國時，就連買一包煙都要看駕照！唉！歲月摧人老啊.......！
這個月拿到印第安那州合法的駕駛執照了！接下來，就是買到車，開始我在美國的自助旅行！

我計畫在考完博士檢定考後，要好好去玩一個禮拜！ 去看看所謂的美國大峽谷！

那天，我靜靜地從窗外向外望！在美國唸書，已近三年了！我每晚面對相同的街景；
與其說是思鄉，還不如解釋成『無聊』來得貼切，只覺得心裡感覺不到那麼強烈的鄉愁！
從大學開始，我就好像每幾年一輪，一直在外鄉打轉！
大學加上兵役，就在外混了六年！工作五年後，又赴美留學至今！
若是論文順利，算算我在美國又待上五年有餘！
說到這裡，
我真的很感謝我的父母親！支持我到今日，他們真的辛苦了！
媽到現在仍在餐廳工作，爸退休後就連一架新車都捨不得買！
我真的希望趕快回國，就是待在家裡每天聽你們念兩句，我也要看你們快快樂樂地！健健康康地！
博士的光環，在我心中，抵不上你們抱佑佑時滿足的笑容！

Political Week

This week was actually quite political to me. First of all, Hillary Clinton came to Terre Haute on March 20th (Thursday). What’s more, she was just about 100 meters away from me in front of my apartment. I knew I would not be able to stay too close to her any way so that I just watched her from my apartment window. Out of security concern, she was surrounded by several bodyguards, looking vigorous and younger than how she is on TV. This was the first time for me see a politician celebrity so close and real. Well, I do not have the right to vote In the US and I am not one of her fans. It was just an interesting experience for me to see a “possible” US president candidate in front of my place. Hahahaha…it was not like the things you can see every day out of your window.
Second of all, Ma Ying-jeou won the president election on March 22nd (Saturday), Taiwan time……Hurray!!!!! Well, I am not a KMT fan, neither a DPP one. I am just a critical Taiwanese who is really tired of Chen Shui-bian’s presidency. I was very excited about Ma's victory and impressed by his calm and reasonable delivery of the speech when he knew he won the election. He just showed Taiwanese people his manner of integrity, modesty, and wisdom. I really hope Ma can lead Taiwanese people toward a better future by presenting the advanced development of our democracy in Taiwan. (By the way, I may have something to say to Lien Chan, Wang Jin-pyng, and James Soong: if you three cannot fully support President Ma, please at least don't do anything harmful to him or KMT, just for gaining your popularity. I don't think you three are better than Ma. To be honest, you three can just retire if you cannot devote yourself to Ma's presidency.)
Well, well, well! I have enough political excitement this week. Last but not least, DO NOT think you can escape and get away from a justice judge of your corruption and scandals, Mr. Chen Shui-bian. You'd better wash your ass before you go to jail.


Do you see the future of Taiwan?.....

可...樂在工作，但...不樂於工作

親愛なる君へ :

妳是否也跟我一樣徹夜難眠？昨天我非得喝上一杯Whisky，才開始慢慢有睡意！

最近，我開始看車了！以前，我對Nissan沒什麼好感！現在反倒慢慢開始喜歡美國的幾樣車款！就拿Altima來說吧，我一坐上駕駛座就覺得無比舒服！甚至比Toyota Camry還來得好！有種與車對話的感覺！好像我手握方向盤，車子便對我說：『How are you doing today, my lord!』。反正我就是慢慢看，慢慢挑到一台屬於我的車！

想到車，也許就會想到工作、家庭和旅行！我想，我不會成為一個工作狂！很多人會把工作當作生活，認為工作帶給他們價值！我正好相反！我會覺得是我賦予工作價值！沒有我的付出及努力，工作是沒有意義的！這樣聽起來好像覺得我應該是很積極很樂於工作的人！也許，我會樂於工作，但我不會讓工作來決定我的生活！我不會讓工作牽著我的鼻子走！我想，也就是因為如此，我才毅然決然辭掉台灣的工作，來美國唸書！

來到美國，發現『工作』對美國人來說是「需要」，而不是「必要」。你會聽到一般父母親愉快地談到自己的兒女終於找到工作了！就連丈母娘找女婿都要挑一個有工作的！好像有工作的，晚餐後賞一杯咖啡加蛋糕 ; 沒有工作的，還是識相點，早點告辭回家去吧！這其實是正常的！我該來美國時，美國政府並不給我社會安全號碼，所以我不能買車掛車牌！一直到我開始在Lab上班，才發給我！---說穿了，也就是說，你得要工作，而工作賺錢後，就會有消費，有消費就會帶動經濟成長，而國家稅收也就會成長，國家有錢了，才會有能力執行更好的社會建設及社會福利！

回到剛才的工作態度，美國人要「工作」，但並不會熱衷於工作！他們的行政效率並不高，數學又差勁！一個簡單的證照要花上四個禮拜以上才能到手！相較於台灣，他們的行政人員可以開心的在上班時間聊天講手機，你卻對他們沒輒！不高興啊，去申訴啊！了不起被念兩句，不會有什麼大礙！只要說個藉口，很容易就能矇過關！（我的教授說，美國人說理由的功力從小就開始培養了！他還準備出一本學生之理由大全勒！）那你說美國人民都在做啥勒？……….休閒！美國人一年花在運動上的錢會讓我們台灣人瞠目結舌！他們會開上三小時的車，花上一百元美金（相當約台幣三千元），就是為了看一場球賽！要不然就是自己上場玩，便宜的高爾夫俱樂部練一桶球也不過才五元美金！打18洞，最便宜的也才三十元（這是中西部喔！東西岸的話就不止這個價錢了！）

當然啦！要是跟法國人比！那美國人還是務實一點！法國人會為了一杯咖啡，而在賽那河畔吟詩的！美國人不會，他們會說：『oh, come on! Give me a break. I would rather watch football and drink beer than sit there for just a piece of poem crap.』難怪會有人說，美國人是個沒文化的民族！

所以，算算你的工時吧！如果你一週工作超過45個小時，就要開始檢討啦：是效率不夠？是工作量增加？是被其他雜事影響了？還是你下班後沒其他事可做了？故意加班！！！成吉思汗打下萬里江山，死後所葬，也不過就是幾尺！宋朝儘管弱不禁風，受外敵欺侮，但文化發展卻是中國的鼎盛！停下來，欣賞一下今晚的月亮吧！有一天老到走不動的時候，如果你心中只有年輕時的工作，那種心境，是何等淒涼寂寞啊！！！

First Time In the US: Dental Care and Haircut

The toothache finally got me walk into a dental clinic. My doctor was Bruce Anshutz. He was so great that I almost felt nothing when he tried to make my tooth "numb!" Well, let's say it might be a good beginning for me to "like" to see a dentist. The treatment did not take a long time. Before I fell asleep, everything was done. Bruce then explained how he "fixed" my tooth. Temporarily, he filled the CAVE with some medicine and not-so-strong material. If I don't feel any toothache within a month, Bruce is going to put stronger materials in the CAVE. All the treatment today cost me only USD $21.

(As a matter of fact, he suggested to go back Taiwan, have the root or nerve taken out, and put a cap on. Guess what?! If I had all the treatment here in the US, I would have to pay at least USD $1600.)

Well, I guess I have to cross my fingers, hoping I won't have the toothache this month.

In the afternoon, I asked Yoshiki a favor for taking me to the barber's. The barber was still a student. After she was done with my hair, she asked her instructor to check how well she just did. I gave her 70 out of 100 points. Overall, she really concentrated on the work and was willing to communicate with her client. Her attitude and job enthusiasm were worth appreciation. On the other hand, I may not complain anything more since I only paid USD $5 for the haircut.

Do I look younger because of short hair? Jejejejejeje…

三十歲男人的活力 ＋四十歲的男人的腦子

親愛なる君へ :

還記得我跟你說過的，所謂「單純的喜樂」嗎？
我今天看一齣戲，戲中男主角是哈佛的高材生，億萬身價的他情願去當速食店的小工，體會汗水、勞力換來的一餐滿足！
他一個月所得還不抵不上以往一餐的花消！但他覺得很開心，很知足，很踏實地去實現他的夢想！
很簡單的訴求，似曾相識的劇情！但我還是細細地看完！為主人翁喝采！
又一次，粗茶淡飯和心心相扣戰勝了錦衣玉食及同床異夢！

以前，我會相信，這樣的劇情真可以發生在現實生活中！
現在，我卻堅信，有千萬身價後，一樣要粗茶淡飯！ （是千萬，不是億萬喔！我沒那磨貪心！）

但這些都不是重點！

令我著迷的，是他們同吃一枝KFC玉米的快樂！是他們颱風天看海的瘋狂！
就是做最簡單的事，也莫名地快樂！因為有他/她在身邊！

廣宏一說：「四十歲以後單身的男人，他們對心靈上的渴望，早已勝過肉體的歡愉追求，究竟他們這不惑之年，一晚纏綿悱惻一次後，也只能選擇不惑了吧！這時他們面對女人，是比少時更敏感，猶勝體貼，卻也更容易被誤解成戲弄人生！」（取自 08/03/06 戲弄人生：http://www.styleblog.com.tw/style_b/article.aspx?name=bukuly&no=7940）

我沒有戲弄人生的本錢！第一，就算我還可以一晚七次，我也不想因為過渡縱慾而早死！（嗯！兩三次還可以啦！哈哈哈哈！！！）第二，我也沒那麼有錢有閒，身邊也沒有名模辣ㄎㄚ圍著我團團轉！ 但是，我倒是漸漸有廣大師說的敏感！說起來，好像有點『鹽吃多了、路走多了』的感慨！呵呵！我還沒老到那種地步！最起碼，每週三次的健身，那些一肚子肥油的美國佬和「少年家」也不見得跟得上！

那我是啥！？三十歲男人的身體，卻有四十歲男人的體會嗎！？ ...我開始懂得，為什麼老爸喜歡看「背叛愛情」！也開始知道，為什麼和一個二十幾歲的小姑娘鬥嘴會開心個30分鐘！看到溫馨的電視廣告，會想掉眼淚！（唉！奇怪勒！我更年期又還沒到！）

其實，再一次就好，我真的很想再感受一次，那心頭炙熱的愛、那份癡狂、那眼角滲出的甘甜！幾句話就能顫動心悱，隻字片語，就能讓心口發熱！

Chivas Regal (12 yrs) + Missing Moment

Well, really! I swear I did not just grasp a reason for drinking!
This bottle of scotch just came at the right time and at the right place.
What can I say!? This is a coincident by God's hands…(I guess)!

Take a look at those Chinese words on the invitation card: 『執子之手，與子偕老』, which means " Let me hold your hands till the day we both leave the world." (I prefer this translation. "Till the day we are both old" seems not to express the inner meaning.)

I was flipping through your wedding pictures, sipping whisky. I remember you poured me glasses of sake once while we were eating hot pot in Yangmingshan. I drank up the whole bottle and then had a nice evening walk with you and friends. The tiny rain drop was like cool steam shower, falling on our warm faces and palms…

I guess I would also be drunk in your wedding like your father.
KANPAI, my dear. Here is a song for you.
Please remember … you and he always have all my best blessings!!!