After a lovely piano concert at the Taipei National Concert Hall, we emerged onto the plaza to find the Taimei Tribe elementary school rehearsing for their concert the following day.  The evening air was gentle and the subdued atmosphere perfect as they performed this Taimei traditional wedding song.  My iphone recording skills are horrible, but I think that their beautiful voices more than make up for it.

Outside: Toronto under snow, snow and more snow.  We shoveled, shoveled and shoveled again, then refilled the bird feeder in the backyard and gave the cardinals a busy morning.

Inside: The cat mightily asleep for the entire day, not even disturbed by all the birds merrily chirping outside.  I wholeheartedly agree with his philosophy.

Life is at crossroads right now.  There are many paths, and I can't see any of them very clearly...and I'm walking round and round at the intersection, waiting for...what?  One of the paths to become clearer to me?  Courage to go down a path and not look back?  At any rate, I'm still here.  I just need a bit more time.

My grandfather passed away last week, after a long fight with many different illness.  He would have turned 90 this year.  I never got to know him very well, having grown up on the other side of the world, and never having been able to communicate to each other as we speak different dialects.  In his later years, he grew quite deaf; being naturally an introverted, quiet man, he became even more consciously mute.  I remember him to have the sweetest smile.  I know he's in a much better place now.

These are a couple of the very few photographs I have with him, on my last visit back to Taiwan in 2008.

My lovely grandparents celebrated their 60th Diamond Anniversary just a few years ago, and I always remember my grandmother being quoted on the local newspaper: the key to a successful marriage, she said, is "tolerance" -- !!  Or perhaps this is better translated into English as "compromise and patience".  You have to give each other space, and remember what matters in the end is that you want to stay together.

I'll be flying back to Taiwan in a few days to attend the funeral, and to give my grandmother a big hug and kiss.

Presenting a random assortment of moments of the past two months of my life:

In early December, I completed writing my master's thesis, packed up and said goodbye to my student life in Berkeley.  I left California armed with a year and a half of incredible learning and memories, and the life-long friendships of many amazing individuals that I've been so fortunate to meet.

From San Francisco, Pocket Ninja and I made it to Philadelphia for a whirlwind visit;

From Philly, I hopped on a bus to the Empire State, city of my dreams.  If I still had any doubts that my heart truly belongs to the east coast, it disappeared as soon as I stepped out of the bus and into the streets of New York, breathed in the chilly air and looked up at the skyscrapers.  I've missed living in a true metropolis.

I finally got to visit the newly completed Lincoln Center, which I was quite impressed with.  Doesn't it look especially romantic at night?  Fingers crossed that I'll get a chance to attend an opera or ballet here sometime this year.

We didn't get to dine at the new restaurant at the center, but I was fascinated by its street presence, showcasing its kitchen full of chefs and sous-chefs to all of New York.  Here's my friend HC trying to get a good shot of the action:

I escaped New York before the blizzards hit, and at last made it home to Toronto.  It's been so good to be back in my own city.

So, goodbye 2010, year of change; and hello 2011, which I know is going to be just as wild.  I'll be taking a little break to reassess my goals and dreams, and see where the winds take me in a few weeks.  Until then, happy new year to you.

orchids are my favourite flowers, a sentiment passed down from my mother, who in turn inherited it from her father.  i still tell my friends the legendary story of my grandfather's makeshift greenhouse of orchids in his little house in Taiwan; he was so good at getting orchids to rebloom year after year that his friends would bring their wilted orchids to him in exchange for a flowering pot.  i still have blurry memories of being in that greenhouse when i was a toddler, held up by my grandfather, and gazing up at all the hanging pots of green and pink and purple and white gleaming in the sunlight. 

sadly, that house was torn down a few years ago by the government to make way for the railway expansion, and my grandparents were forced to evacuate.  the orchid greenhouse now lives only in my memory.

orchids have a reputation as difficult plants to take care of, but really they are quite unfussy.  somehow, intentionally or unintentionally, i seem to accumulate potted orchids - whether gifted or rescued from others - wherever i go.  here are my three potted orchids in berkeley, which have all survived the cold bay area summer, and are all blooming for a second time happily.  they enjoy their quiet, sunny nook in the apartment, in the good company of a painting by my flatmate Hugo, and a topographic model of downtown San Francisco made by me for my thesis project.

living with French, Indian and Taiwanese flatmates makes for tons of fun.  as none of them but me have ever carved pumpkins before, we set out on this ultimate halloween experience mission.  i was the teacher by default, being the only north american of the bunch.  although we had no special carving tools, we were armed with fruit and butter knives, and our various backgrounds as architects and landscape architects.  fun was had by one and all.

naturally, i had to make a pumpkin mate for pocket ninja.

and of course, i cleaned and toasted the pumpkin seeds the next day.  i tossed them just with olive oil and sea salt -- simple and yummy.  it takes about 30 minutes to eat a handful, so it should last us well into next year.

seems that we skipped summer this year and went straight to fall, really the eternal season in the bay area.  can't believe it's almost november already.  happy halloween one and all.