Sunday, December 25, 2011

|| East Grace Street

Christmas Eve was here. It usually is the time for me to write lots of season's greetings, but there was none this year, lots of small things to do and felt was catching up all the time. In the morning, I talked to Wei and Hailing. They seem to be safe and sound and everything. Sent a number of text messages to my cousins, friends and classmates, and received replies.

Catherine hosted a dinner party, food was amazing and love the time we sat on the 3rd floor and chatted. Coming out at around 1015pm, I decided to follow Whit to her church, the Centenary United Methodist Church at the east grace street. The midnight downtown was divine, cold was in the air, but the streets all seem to be ready for a holy reception. We parked in a lot, then walked the small lanes through the backdoor (would never be able to do that myself), making several turns inside, and we got to the congregation. The service was peaceful with candle lighting in the end. Just after midnight (1216pm) we walked out to embrace the melancholy church bells in the air and on streets. It was a peaceful night from my heart.

Sunday, October 09, 2011

|| Sat Afternoon in the Country

It is the kinda weekend afternoon that all mankind can dream of, in the fall, when plants and fruits come into harvest, and peasants (or workers) sit down and enjoy some music, grill, donuts and apple ciders. The road up the hill was bad, packed with people and cars, almost 30 minutes to settle down, but what was around was joyful. Apple trees look handsome, all surrounding the land, York, Winesap, Golden Delicious and Fuji ...

Grabbed half a dozen apple cider donuts from the country store. It was warm when I was holding it, a wonderful feel after some hard labor work in the past several weeks ..



















Saturday, August 20, 2011

|| Serene: James River State Park

Drove 1.5 hours towards west on highway 60 and we reached the Buckingham county. Route 605 was hard to find for the impatient visitors but it was right there when I was about to turn around. After the right turn, there was a 7 miles rusty and narrow road that led to the newest of the Virginia state parks, the upper stream of the James river.

However, the river wasn't ready to be seen until we found it behind layers and layers of trees. Much like what we'd seen at the downstream, the water was extremely shallow, and the river bank was very wide. Visitor Center, Dixon Landing, Taylor Pond ... simple places, unsophisticated, people are having some easy fun times. My favorite place was the picnic area close to the river side, gravel driveway, right pass the leisure equipment rental office, driving the car up close to the picnic table, parked right under the big tree. We had a healthy lunch, sitting there, listening to the passing train, the water was serene, quiet, healing, summer time is good ...

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Saturday, July 23, 2011

|| Survival Theory

A few more hours and I'm officially one year older. It's dreadful to think about age and aging, but life leaves no time to be depressed, so let me celebrate my surviving this past year of good life, and wish that I could be here celebrating another soon enough.

It's a Saturday, scorching heat outside, 105F. It has been better concentrating, a lot of reading, some conspiring, a little pondering for the birthday and for the weekend. My concentration problem has always been with people, they distract me and I'm sure the distraction isn't reciprocal. I'm interested in knowing people but these days everyone is cryptic, so decoding and imagining. The imagining part is what I disliked myself for 'cause I'd like to think people whoever come to my way are perfections of their species, but they are not. They have various professions, techniques, styles and faults. I tend to be that selfish creature but have retreated to a dangerous place that I don't ask for what I want but instead imagine that I'm getting what I want. It's distracting and morose (picked up this word from our CFO, after his all-hands on phone about pressure). But I also see what could get myself back again, that is, work and wisdom. Indeed that's the best medicine for the concentration problem.

Introductory Statistics, Econometrics, Probability, BASEL, parabolic, polynomial, univariate, multivariate, capital adequacy, supervisory review and market transparency ... it's somewhat easier when pressure is around, and I am concentrating. 2/3 of the distractions are disappearing, but I am doing badly and wanting to salvage the 1/3 disappeared. No, let's not do that, I'm saying that to myself ... on 7/23/2011.

Monday, July 18, 2011

|| Retrogression

It is insane. The chaos has been helping a bit because it commanded my attention. It never works out the perfect way, isn't it? I am thinking about it, who wouldn't? Everything is honest except for one, not the 1-2-3 though.

1. A black scaled snake got into the WC2 rotating door and staged a coiling scene of fear (for people like me) and wonder (for people who like all animals). This happened in the busy morning time and can't imagine somebody beeped it into the building

2. A good friend is coming back to Capital One to work because her team is busy. Amazing professionalism and dedication

3. We are losing some valuable finance scoring officers

Saturday, July 16, 2011

|| Peach Bountiful But ...

I can't concentrate.

Blue and high sky, but I was thinking of Alaska. It's almost like asking whether I like a plain and simply character or a moody and dark one. The answer is that the one that creates its own weather is innately more attractive to me. I'm dying on this, one day.

Clouds and mountain, but I was thinking of somebody 152+60 miles away. I was deceived and defeated because it was cruel, growing up and growing aged. I couldn't mention the name or the specifics (therefore wondering if I could ever remember what this was after some days, for myself). Selfish, it's not exactly that kid rushing out to get his cookie first, but who doesn't think of others, seems that need to add one more, who can't accept ethical differences. Talking about diversity, it's hard. We all have principles, we don't lie about some things and don't expect others to lie about them. But they do, and what shall we react, I should really put it down (by writing down via archaic language) and let it go.

Beautiful mountain scenes, fresh air. For a moment, I was sitting alone on the deck and looking out. I wish I could concentrate, but I couldn't.
7/16 - one day, lots of time searching blindly on internet of anything I can find ... all wonderful things otherwise except for one fundamental deceit
7/17 am - silence helps me and let it be, so silly and doomed
7/17 pm - broke silence, too bad; please, work get me focus again
7/17 evening - deleted all contacts from yahoo, is there any use of this, bless
7/18 - retrogression
7/19 - somewhat better, thinking about the long-term investment etc.
7/20 - temptation and resistance
7/21 - flat conversation, maybe that's the best thing; so back to myself
7/26 - it's the end, yes it is
7/31 - taciturn, but hope to break it when I do have something to say
8/9 - 16 - sadly, the chapter is forever closed