Lab Administrator

Yeah, I come back to work in the language lab. Now I am in charge of this technology classroom. Well, what’s the title…?! Oh, they call me Lab Administrator (quoted from http://www1.indstate.edu/lll/faculty_staff.html).

Sounds cool, doesn’t it? But basically, I sit there and do my homework all the time. There is not much stuff to be taken care of in this lab.
The hardware and software of the computers in the lab have been updated this semester. Finally, we have Office 2007 version installed in the computers…

God bless us!
Somehow I still feel a little bit lonely here. Two years ago, when Tama, Sherry, Sean, and Yoshiki were all employees here, we had a nice time working together. I missed the time we went to the German Beer festival at the end of the semester. It was the “friendship” that made me active and energetic.
PS: The logo above belongs to LLL Department, Indiana State University. http://www1.indstate.edu/lll/

Monroe Lake 釣遊

任性自在的人生親愛なる君へ :

好像又回到小時候去大舅的魚塭玩，坐在竹筏上釣魚的感覺！不同的是，這次是在美國（印第安那最大的湖），而且是自己開船！剛開始還覺得有點怕怕的，要是翻船掉到水裡，我自己到還會游泳，由樹可能就難說了！！！......（笑）

那天水色還算清澈，就是風有點大，天氣陰陰的，但不像會下雨的樣子！本想著到這麼大的水庫釣魚，怎麼著都得中一隻大尾的吧！沒想到四個小時下來，由樹掛零，我釣到一條小不拉嘰的條紋鱸魚（striped bass）!

風景雖不錯，但釣不到魚的心情，卻總是興奮不起來！不知道日後回台灣有沒有這種地方釣魚！？要是真有錢，我還真想買一條船，每個禮拜都去釣魚！

這裡租一艘釣魚船算是不貴的：四小時加油錢和稅金一共是80元美金！

這隻小不點不小心咬到我的餌！唉！放你一命吧，小心一點吧，別被其他大魚吃掉，也別再咬錯餌啦！......（爽）

PhD Candidate & Celebration by Fishing

Fishing & Studies: GO~ In Your Own Ways

Passing the oral defense, I earned my PhD candidacy this afternoon. To celebrate, I went fishing in Hawthorn Park, not having too much excitement at all. Well, then, it might not be so appropriate to use the word "celebrate." Maybe "reward" is more suitable for my intention.

I got two largemouth bass today, reaching my 37. The water level was pretty low so that I did not get many bites. The fish I caught seemed to come and say congratulations to me. Five years ago, I never thought of coming to the United States, earn a PhD candidacy, and fish black bass.

Life is magic!

The Burns Lake really looked like a giant mirror. The cloud seemed to come out from the lake and float on the surface. Somehow I felt like reaching my finger to the cloud, grasping it in my hand or making it into another shape.

The scenery must have come from God's work which echoed to Chinese sentences in my mind: 「此景只應天上有，此生能有幾回映？」I am not saying that I will die soon or something. It's just a fact that I may not have another opportunity to come back here once I graduate from ISU. I really want to hold every happy moment in my heart.
Why do I start to like lure fishing? Well, it's really interesting to me. It takes energy, patience, experiences, knowledge, and wit to fish (sometimes a little good luck). And most importantly, fishing gives me a time to think and reflect, talking to myself or to the nature. It is tranquil, but "thrilling" as well. You never know when and how the fish will bite the bait. All the patience pays off at the moment of "GOT IT."

野生湖區

親愛なる君へ :

想起五佰唱的「美麗新世界」，眼前的景致，雖算不上美，但卻別有一番的「寧靜」！印第安那州有不少的野生打獵及釣魚的湖區，需要持有證照才可在此狩獵及釣魚！這類湖區，通常沒有露營劃分地、沒有游泳區、沒有觀光景點，只有在特定季節，才會有獵人或是釣客出沒！所以囉，污染很少，湖水清見底，草木茂盛！

比起公園裡面的湖，這裡算是非常「天然」的--天然ㄝ『尚好』！！！

所以囉，這裡的魚也比較不好釣，警覺性也高，我想，大概我看不到他們，但他們卻可以透過光線的折射看到釣客的影像吧！為了把湖底的魚騙上鉤，我用汲鉤頭加上軟蟲，沿著底層搜索！終於，讓我請上來一條！嘿嘿，野生的就是不一樣，拉力十足，差一點就讓它鑽進岩縫裡逃掉！！！…(得意中)

這尾大嘴鱸魚很漂亮，身材勻稱，體色完美！很想抓回去養，嘿嘿！

算一算，我最近這半個多月以來釣到三十多條鱸魚！從一開始的興奮，到現在稍有心得的成就感 ; 從每釣到一條都要拍張照片，到現在釣到時頂多玩一兩分鐘也就放掉了！

其實最有趣刺激的，是在中魚揚竿的那一刻！

那一天，我仍靜靜地在此地垂釣，妳會靜靜地陪我，拿水給我喝，和我說話，和我一起慶祝釣到一條大魚？有…...這麼一天嗎？

搖擺小魚-我搖、我搖、我使勁搖

親愛なる君へ :

剛剛才學會用硬式魚餌，在野地湖邊，我就用搖擺小魚成功補到一尾大嘴鱸！但那裡地勢太過險峻苛刻，湖裡雖然斷木殘枝眾多，有利魚群躲藏，但卻很可能讓我的魚餌掛底！那天最後一竿本來就要把那隻鱸魚拉上來了，沒想到讓它逃進浮木底下，我的魚餌也卡住了！弄了半天沒辦法，只有把線剪斷了！！！

有人說路亞釣魚是種幽雅的休閒運動，我與有同感！不必複雜的工具，一個隨身包加上釣竿，隨時可以成行，有水隨處可下竿！但不要把路亞當作是簡單的事情，水域、天氣、魚種、地形、地物，任何一個因素都可能決定當天的魚獲！該挑什麼魚餌、想進攻哪一個水層，都是可以說半天的學問！

玩，也要玩得有心得、動腦筋，這樣才有趣！
看看這隻大個頭，嘿嘿嘿，夠份量吧，拉力十足！所謂大餌釣大魚，說的一點也不錯！

在台灣要釣這麼大隻的淡水鱸魚恐怕不常見吧！看到我手上那個綠色護腕了吧，最近大概甩竿太過頻繁，也開始有點酸痛了！呵呵！

What a Wonderful Day for Fishing

Guess what! I got eight bass today.
I went to Hawthorn Park at around three this afternoon. I chose the left side as my first spot for today's fishing. It was raining at that time actually, but I did not care at all. Maybe it was because of the bad weather, I was the only one there in the beginning. Just right after my first throw, I got the first bass. Hahahahaha…Wooooooooooo…So cool!
By following the rules from reading the bass tips, I immediately changed into another spot and kept trying. And it was really a miracle: I got my second bass. I could not believe that I caught two bass within thirty minutes. I felt like winning a lottery or something.

Then I changed the lure since the previous one has already worn out. And I guess it was the bigger lure that enabled me to catch bigger bass: the third, fourth, and fifth ones.

The third bass: Isn't it big?!

What?! You want to buy this fish?! Five Hundred bucks...cause this is my fifth bass.
~What's going on here? The bass in the lake has not been fed for a week or what?!~ At around five thirty, if I remember correctly, Sharon, Alyssa, and Mayla came to join me. Wuhoooooooo…I really needed a break…cause I have been catching lots of fish!!! Hahahahahahaha…

To test whether the little shiny bead works, I used Alyssa's rod. The result shown that just remaining the original setting would be good enough. Bass seemed not to enjoy the little fluorescent bead. So I changed the lure and the hook. It was getting dark so I thought it might be a good idea to use jig heads. Hey..hey..hey..hey…It worked. I got my sixth, seventh, and eighth bass by the jig head and the long curly-tail worm.

Look at my happy face…I was a happy fisherman.

湖釣大嘴鱸魚-初學路亞的心得

親愛なる君へ :

嘿嘿！最近迷上路亞湖釣，而且我專釣大嘴鱸魚！看看這大個兒，蠻重的勒，牙齒也很尖，我把它抓起來的時候常會被刺傷！

說到路亞湖釣，其實是一種休閒運動，釣者需要極大的耐性和技巧！初學者往往數小時拉不到一隻魚，若不是擬餌出問題，就是持竿的技巧不對！有人說沒有於不會去咬的擬餌，只有不會用的人！我剛開始去釣的幾次，站在湖邊幾個小時就是拉不到一條魚！現在稍好，有時一兩條釣到手，那種感覺真是興奮！

當大嘴鱸魚去咬餌的時候，它是好像吸水似地把餌吸進嘴裡，這時竿子就會抽動兩下，我再一揚竿，收線，就會看到魚身在水面上翻滾，信心及征服感那真是難以言語！

有幾次揚竿時機抓不好，被魚逃了，雖然懊悔，但也學到一課：耐心！有些玩家說，釣不到魚時也是一種樂趣！因為這就好似一場人與魚的競爭，鬥智、鬥耐心、鬥心理、也鬥體力！
這尾昨天釣到時，真是歡喜：是我目前釣到最大的一尾！唉！好在這種土味重、腥味重，不好吃！要不然，我肯定帶回家煮了祭五臟廟!...哈哈哈哈!

為無辜致死之鱸魚祈禱文

親愛なる君へ :

我發誓我真的不知道鉤子勾得那麼深，而且從眼下深入到腦內！難怪我放入水中時，它已經奄奄一息了！

人為財死，鳥為食亡！唉，鱸魚老弟，你為了一條假餌，斷送了你寶貴的魚命！我為你祈禱，為你祝福！請你不要怨我，其實你在這湖光山色的地方也住夠了！今日蒙主寵召，也算是踏入一條來世的康莊大道了！阿彌陀佛…..阿門阿門…..

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

以前在台灣我其實沒有很喜歡釣魚！因為台灣沒有這麼好的湖區，污染又重！雖然在這裡釣起來的魚我還是不敢吃，但最起碼這裡感覺上比較天然！

我記得有一個人曾經感嘆道：「我懷念寧靜獨自釣魚的時光！」
在美國釣魚好像也有這種感覺，不過差別就在我要不時地動一下釣竿，讓假餌扭動一下，吸引魚的注意！

希望那天可以跟爸媽在這種地方釣釣魚！

Bass Fishing in Indiana

I did not really like to go fishing when I was in Taiwan. But in Indiana, I start to enjoy going bass fishing.

This was my fourth time going fishing in Hawthorn park near Terre Haute, but this was the first time for me to catch a REAL fish. I would never forget the moment: feeling the lure attacked by the fish…I pulled the fishing rod…reeled back the line…..and then I saw the fish ripping the surface of the lake. Catching the fishing, I felt a sense of achievement and happiness…Well, can I say: I just conquered the nature. Hahahahahaha…
See the sharp teeth of the fish. They hurt my thumb when I held the fish's mouth.

On that day, I actually caught two fishes in Hawthorn park. For the first one, I used down/drop shot and soft worm bait as the lure. But for the second one, I used jighead and still soft worm bait. The worm with a curly tail really worked.

Well, I really wanted to keep them if I had a big fish tank at home! But they were not big enough. I could not help but let them go. Actually, people said that bass of this kind did not taste good!

This was my third fish caught in Chinook Fish and Wildlife Area. I wasn't expect to catch one cause it was getting dark, and Yoshiki and I were preparing to go back. It was just a moment of pulling and I immediately saw the fish flipping over the water. WowwwwwHahahahaha…another cute little sucker coming to my hook!

Covered Bridges

Toyota

Moving Forward

Thank you, Connie! You are the best!

It was a very nice afternoon. Yoshiki and I finished working out in the Leclub and then decided to take a short trip to some covered bridges near Terre Haute. These covered bridges are special relics with long historical background in Indiana. Well, I am not actually that familiar with the history! But when I saw these covered bridges, I could really imagine people were riding horses or walking through them in the past.
It's not a painting. It's a real photograph with blue sky, green field, and a fatty middle-aged man. ^_^
This is not the original Bridgeton covered bridge. I guess the original was destroyed by flood. This one is still under construction. See the year--2006!
It must have rained a lot yesterday. The flow in the river was pretty fast. I should have brought my tripod! Guess where did I put my camera!?
Take a look at the next picture!

This covered bridge is located near the Turkey Run State park! (I have have got paid from Toyota! Hahahahahaha....)

胖子不要穿白色橫條紋的衣服

親愛なる君へ :

好啦，好啦！我知道我已經整整胖了一圈了！戒煙半年多了，別的不長，淨是長肉！！！尤其是腰部那圈，楞是一個勁地蹦出來！

上週去了一趟 Indy 的 White River Park ，聽說那裡的人工運河很漂亮！想起 2005 年去的 Saint Antonio ，那裡運河旁的風光，仍映在腦中久久不去！但是 Indy 這個就好像不那麼美，沒有熱鬧的酒吧及冰淇淋店家，也沒有特意裝飾的餐廳在兩旁！看起來其實不外是一個河濱公園，和台南的運河公園有得比！走了一圈，看到不少一家大小騎著腳踏車遊河！嘿嘿，胖子居多！

那天，吃了一個幸運餅乾，裡面簽語寫著：「好事留給靜靜等待的人」！是在磨我的耐心嗎！？

愛一個人可以無怨無悔地愛下去嗎？真的有那種人，可以不管結果，不求回報，死心塌地地愛另一個人嗎？

我會繼續去走走看看，去開拓自己的眼界，去擴展自己的心域！
我彷彿覺得，我的心越是開闊，我越是不能相信人的心可以這麼執著！
希望美洲大陸之旅，可以踏出我的領悟，踏出屬於我的人生！

這頭牛照得好啊！




好就好在我在牠旁邊顯得不那麼肥了！



哈哈哈哈！