Sorry-ology

L got married. It's been a while after L's wedding in June. I just saw the photos of the ceremony these days and was again touched by the beauty and the significance that this event was meant to be. She was extremely pleased and was surrounded by friends and beloved families. It was a shame that I was unable to attend her wedding. L and I have been friends for almost 12 years since the first day of our university life. We and four other girls shared a room in NCCU female dormitory for an entire year. Six of us in total. That was an extraordinary year for all of us, I think, or at least for me: trying to know and to get used to each other, especially it is perhpas the first time for all of us to live far away from home. We also enjoyed an extraordinary excitement in exploring Taipei city by scooters. Riding through empty streets on countless midnights. After the first year, we continued living close to each other almost for the rest of the 3 years before completing the degree. L...

In March 2007, some of my coursemates and I went to Gregynog Hall in Wales to attend a Palaeography workshop. It was my first time to journey to Wales, and have liked it tremendously! Fields and endless fields spread out in front of us, sheep and horses and piglets scattered across the vast tapestry of green. Sweet smell of grass and tender breeze. Nature is such a gift of grace. I recalled a cake that I made a while ago, a cake themed Yorkshire Dale with plenty of sheep merrily wandering around. (Although I had heard about some really naughty sheep which trampled down gardens and farmlands in the countryside and although I also had been told about the evil nature of these 'pretentious' creatures...) I did my laundry today, and the smell of lavender of the washing powder is now lightening the heavy and thick air on such a humid day. I am reminded of the sweet and refreshing smell that I encountered in Wales. Go to see photos of my trip to Wales , including Gregynog Hall a...

National Palace Museum, Taiwan The National Palace Museum in Taiwan (here after the NPM) is one of the best museums in the world and definitely the best place to explore Chinese culture and history. It is incomparable in its comprehensive collection of quality Chinese art. In recent years, the NPM in Taiwan won several important international awards that recognized its creative maneuver in managing the museum, in particular, in its efforts in transforming the culture of antiques into a fashion. It might still be a fashion of culture tourism, but more significantly, it also creates a fashion for museum culture. The NPM has introduced a new lens of technology through which ideas of past, history, and culture could be seen from a up-to-date viewpoint. I am frequently appalled by some popularized forms of culture, to be honest. However, efforts in makingthe so-called high-brow culture in museums 'popular' and 'known', like what the NPM is making, have to be appreciated. Ne...

A man and his muddy dog On a morning early this summer, on a fence in the neighborhood stood two toys: a man and a dog. 'Are they lost?' I wondered. On that same afternoon, I was surprised again to find them there, still, except that the man changed his pose. The mud on that toy dog was curious: traces of so much memory and time that had gone passed. He must have just been dug out of soil where it was buried some time ago. Why was it buried in the first place? Perhaps the keeper was suspecting any possible loss of this toy, or plotting to make the dog carry out a certain mission. The toy man in a technician's costume has a peculiar vividness in his body and feature. He was made with so many joints. Must be very agile! Did he come with a girlfriend? just like Barbie and Danny* were made a couple. I was thinking, is there any toy like them hidden in my garden back home? * 'Danny', a mistaken figure for 'Ken'. Thanks to a live-in commentator's reminding. [...