Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

In one week, my vacation in San Diego will draw to a close. The airplane ticket to London is purchased, the registration for housing is completed after that endless wait for visa is finally finished. Most importantly, that day of enrollment as a grad student, anxiously expected since my moment of acceptance back in March of this year, will finally come. As I continue to lounge around my home in San Diego, doing little besides writing this blog , I wonder, am I really ready for studying again? It is a question that I thought about time and time again, under different circumstances, with different suppositions, and for different rationales. A part of me keeps on reminding myself of how difficult the upcoming year will be. After a year being outside of school, doing work that requires little critical thinking along the lines of regular schoolwork, I know that the massive amounts of reading and essay composition will give me endless headaches. The ability to concentrate on little d

Recent few days saw the celebration of two major Asian holidays of the fall: the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) in the Chinese-speaking world plus Vietnam, and Chuseok (추석) in Korea. Essentially, both traditional holidays calls for temporary reunion of families to celebrate good harvest and share the bounties of the land in the form of traditional food. It is a time to return home, both to visit the tombs of clan ancestors and to meet with families, relatives, and childhood friends. As people become more mobile in the developed societies, the visits during these holidays are bound to be one of very few during the year. And to make the visits more meaningful, people are bound to bring some gifts for each other, traditionally as signs of sharing the harvests with neighbors and extended families. Logically enough, traditional foods are the mainstays of such gifts, but in recent years, their contents have become increasingly lavish. From "specially decorated" mooncakes worth hun

The Chinese proverb goes, "禍不單行" (disasters do not come alone). Just as today the world remember the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 , some people are also recalling the equally shocking and much more lethal Quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan exactly half a year ago . For the many people like myself who experienced the chaos, the strength, and socio-economic impacts of the Quake firsthand, its immediate aftermath is something that is bound to be never forgotten in our entire lives. In many ways, many parallels can be drawn between the two events. Both came suddenly to a completely unprepared populace. The Americans believed in their military superiority meant 100% security of the homeland from "foreign attacks." The Japanese thought their decades of experiences in dealing with quakes and their negative effects meant the casualties will be limited. Both "woke up" on the 11th to the emotionally damaging realization of helplessness and vulnerability

Development of the world economy has not had equal effects on all people. Some countries with strong governance and suitable policies grew much faster than those that do not, leaving massive wealth gaps across national borders that are still now being enlarged. And within national boundaries, those with the right social connections, high education, and access of economic means of production benefit disproportionately from growing wealth, leaving behind many compatriots who are still struggling to cope with economic changes. And at the bottom of those coping with economic changes are who the society ruthlessly calls the "homeless," those too poor to afford permanent housing even in the shabbiest of the neighborhoods , scrapping by what little wealth they can find on the street-sides of the world's wealthiest and most developed cities. Furthermore, the municipalities that these homeless reside generally have relatively well-established social welfare systems. It only ad

The ceremonies are certainly as solemn as they have ever been. Across the nation, people remembered that pivotal day exactly ten years ago, when America bore witness to a whole new kind of terrorism. As buildings collapsed and lives lost, the Americans everywhere were forced to come to realization that the mighty economic and military strength of the only remaining superpower are not enough to protect themselves against a few skilled and determined “foreign operatives.” Shock and sorrow are bound to be accompanied by a certain degree of irrationality. In the wake of the disaster, the Americans became blinded by their emotions. They simply entrusted the government with handling any responses to 9/11, thinking that perhaps, amid their own sense of helplessness, their political leaders can come up with solid plans for revenge, for compensation, and for comprehending what was really going on that day. With the emotionally distraught constituents casting aside their usual doubts of gov

Another day, another American making a scene in some distant foreign country and draw the ire of the locals. The latest is what has never been that uncommon of a phenomenon involves an African-American English teacher beating up a middle-aged Korean man for supposed use of "nigga," the derogatory term for blacks. The Korean man was in fact saying "니가..." Korean for "You..." Perhaps the black man was so drunk that he did not realize that the Korean man was speaking to him in Korean. He did not bother clarifying the situation; he just immediately resorted to shouting back in English and throwing punches. Obviously, this pathetic idiot cannot possibly be your typical representative of a foreign man living in a country where he does not speaks the language. He cannot represent America, or the typical African-American. But at the same time, it is not the first instance in which obvious conflicts between locals and Americans have occurred, and comparativel

“What? Electricity is out?!” I had to notice when the fridge stopped humming, the wireless Internet stopped connecting, and my computer screen suddenly got darker from “power-saving mode.” All the sudden, it was as though my life was thrown into chaos. All the Internet resources, the TV cannot be watched, and even news and books (exclusively) online, cannot be accessed. It was instant isolation, and the passage of time suddenly slowed to a crawl. Even at four o’clock on a bright, sunny, and still very much summer-like afternoon, it was as if darkness suddenly descended. The only source of “light” I have now is the battery of my notebook computer, slowly running her dwindling two hours of reserve power. Time is running out, my inner anxiety says. What can I do if electricity does not return within the next two hours, when all that my still-typing hands face is a blank, pitch dark computer screen that cannot respond to any further command? Much can be said by the fact that I am

Some say we should not write essays for fun. However, I believe we should write essays for our own entertainment. I base my examples on personal, historical, and cultural reasons. In fact, if people can write essays for entertainment, they can also continue every aspect of their education simply for the joy of studying. The overwhelming sense of self-accomplishment, the merits of being simply knowledgeable, and the increased social status due to education can all serve to justify a person pursuing education not for practical benefits of getting better jobs with higher salaries. Higher level of education can bring a person greater sense of achievement in life. The pride and self-confidence associated with having a respectable degree from a respectable university can boost a person's stature in front of others. For instance, as I finally received my student visa to UK today, I am officially on my path to continue my one-year master's degree in the London School of Economics.

It has been more than two weeks since my Asian tour came to a calm conclusion . And I have been nothing short of a professional, full-time blogger during this time period (and will continue to do so until I can finally get my visa and get myself to Europe ). Meanwhile, writing two posts per day everyday while doing little else besides watching TV and reading news has been an extreme toil on my mind. As I continue to empty out my private thoughts on these posts, I am beginning to realize that there really is not much left for me to empty out anymore. The current lulls between my travels/work/school reminds me of the period of time I spent in Shanghai before I left for Japan to work in October. It was a time just like now, lounging around at home doing very little but anticipating the beginning of my next adventure (last time was work in Tokyo , this time is school in London). Each time, there were plenty of time to write, but there were so little events happening in my life that

In Chinese, there is a proverb that says "望子成龍，望女成鳳" (watching the son become dragon, watching the daughter become phoenix). It denotes the urgency and the joy parents get from expecting and seeing their children become successful in life. Throughout history, parents have made endless financial and physical investments to help their children the necessary connections and education, so that the children can live better lives than the parents are ever able to during their lives. The case is especially true for immigrant parents who has in many cases, lost out on the same opportunities they would have had in their native countries largely due to their inability to fit in the societies in which they immigrated . But parents are not the only ones who constantly expect their children to succeed beyond anything they can imagine. The friends and other relatives also seem to put in at least certain emotional investment in the progress of the elite few in their social circles. And

It is not news that Chinese has been repeatedly voted around the world (even by the Chinese themselves), as the most difficult language to master. In addition to the weird pronunciation system involving for tones, the loose grammar rules, the most troubling of the language's characteristic to haunt the learners is the thousands and thousands of individual characters that must be memorized before basic reading and writing can be accomplished. With so many of these characters floating around, it is not surprising for even native speakers to forget the most commonly used ones. The advent of computing seemed to resolve the problem. With the language turned into a Latin alphabet-based phonetic code called Pinyin, turning spoken Chinese into writing has never been easier. Just type in the sound with a regular keyboard, and a list of characters is automatically generated. Type in a combination of sounds to form vocabulary, and the character combinations are automatically narrowed dow

"I need a new computer so that I do not have fight your brother for the notebook computer all the time," say my mother when I asked the reason she wants to buy a computer all the sudden. The rationale sounded just like the one for why there are so many bedrooms in the new three-bedroom house that we have here in San Diego: It is to ensure that everyone gets his or her own PC so that there is no awkward forced sharing of a common resource. And looking at the multiple baths, TVs, tables, sofas, it sounds like my family has been busy making this principle commonplace throughout the household. I suppose that in modern life, everything is about efficiency. Everyone wants to get his or her things completed without having to wait for others. And if the financial resources allow for capability for everyone to complete their tasks at the same time, it makes absolutely no economic sense for the family to not take up that option. In the fast-paced, information-based, technology-fre

Labor Day celebrates the hardworking men and women that made America the rich country that she is. But as America increasingly depends on her continued control of the world financial system for sustained wealth (keep issuing debts, printing paper money, and buying up foreign-made products), one can only wonder what the role of these "hard-working men and women" really is today. Evident enough, by the looks of a rusting industrial capital of Detroit and the enthusiasm new college grads have for dubiously "value"-generating sectors of investment banking and consulting, the positions of the traditional working class has been in steady decline in he this country. Gone are the days that even a senior worker in the factory can be considered "middle class" by definition. And increasingly, their decline in social status to mere "working class" has been accompanied by increased social gap with the new middle class of professional white collars, some of

With the ballooning of the Chinese immigrant population in America, it has become increasingly common for random Chinese people to meet as random neighbors in a random place in the U.S. Especially in major cities of an Asian-infested Southern California (such as San Diego), these random meetings have been quite a catalyst in forming rather deep networks among the local new immigrants. And with common pains of immigration ( not fitting in the local society , for one) and common concerns (mostly about sending their kids into elite colleges in America), they certainly have much to talk about under any occasion. To channel their excess energy for random chatting, these new immigrants have been developing a whole new custom of home parties, combining the distinct Chinese affinity toward loudness and crowds (something that naturally comes with living in a densely over-populated country) and the big size of American homes (hardly imaginable in China, where most people living in high-

Having been drinking almost nonstop during my free times (and as part of work) in Japan and Korea, I have been feeling quite puzzled as to how drinking happens in the U.S. Without convenient public transportation systems , people have to rely on cars to get to bars here in San Diego, yet somehow people (including Designated Drivers) just cannot be disciplined enough to not drink at all, leading to every outing ending up as a mild violation of the basic laws against Driving Under Influence (DUI). Yet, it is at the same times kind of funny to see how DUI has become somewhat culturally tolerable over the past years. What is supposed to be the sympathy people feel toward the sad non-drinking driver guys became sympathy felt toward the driver guys who are sipping their light drinks so slowly as to make sure their blood alcohol levels stay below the legal limit. The limitations of the transportation system forced people to adjust, not by cutting back on living their lives, but by find

The times are tough and the jobs are hard to come by. The grave situation of the world economy is certainly not news, and can be easily seen even with a casual visit to the neighborhood Chinese restaurant . For newly graduated college students of the past couple of years, there could not have been tougher times for starting up a professional career. With little work experience, little practical knowledge, and little professional connections, it is no wonder that many are left behind in the increasingly competitive job market, here in the US and across the world. While the anxiety and the sorrow behind not being able to find jobs after four years of hard work in college are definitely understandable and worthy of sympathy, the amount of depressing rhetoric that is accompanying the whole situation has been getting a little too hard to stomach for even (newly) jobless new grads like myself. Public sentiment, echoing the gloomy expressions of the printed media, has been convinced th

They were brave souls who dragged their entire families to unknown countries with strange languages. All they had were visas, dubious (and sometimes highly exploitative) employment, and dreams of better lives in a foreign country. They kept up their hopes up as their language and cultural barriers led to endless frustrations at work and in everyday life, forcing them to suffer quietly the endless social isolation and open ridicule by their American neighbors and coworkers. They tolerated all of that, knowing that their children and grandchildren will lead better lives here and fit in the American society better than they ever will. And certainly, these 1st generation immigrants are right about their children fitting in. Growing up to see America as their homelands, these youngsters often embraces everything America has to offer: her language, culture, customs, and people. Armed with young absorptive minds, their knowledge of America quickly surpass those of their 1st generation

"That argument you made is totally BS, you clearly do not know what you are talking about!" Words of such bluntness often grace the comment section of any internet forums or news sites. People from complete different backgrounds and locations easily dish out such harsh criticisms to others based on a mere few sentences posted, instantly heating up the arena for more vulgar exchanges that often follow. Even the most intellectual and politely-worded articles on the Internet, through such exchanges in the comment section, become fields of barbarous personal assaults within days of the article's original appearance. Surely, the power of the Internet in connecting people from completely different walks of life cannot be 100% positive. Simply because most of the people discussing any issue on forums will never meet each other in life, and may not even see each other again on the Internet, there is absolutely no reservations when it comes to harshness of the criticisms.

The first post of my September also marks the one hundredth post for the year 2011. The post finds me becoming a bit calmer after another scare for my UK visa application to be rejected (Thankfully, after staying up until 2am last night to call the LSE Admissions Office, the officers were very responsive and helped me obtain the necessary new materials within one business day. As I sent off the new materials to the Border Agency in New York, my visa application is officially back on track). The fact is that after suffering through so many natural and man-made disasters, I am getting so accustomed to the idea of something bad unexpectedly happening that my mind no longer feels any sort of panic in facing them. Whether it be the near-death experience through the Quake in Japan or dealing with prospects of not getting my visa to UK (even now), I can think beyond the initial fear or scare of everything not going according to the "normal way." No longer do I feel any sor

The damned British visa is just not going to get approved! First, the visa application was quickly rejected for "insufficient funds" in my bank account. Then, the second application gets delayed. After waiting for a positive reply from the UK Border Agency for more than a week, I received a quick email from them noting that the materials for the application are incomplete. Why? It seems like a certain registry number for the visa application cannot be used twice. So, after an irrational first rejection, the second application is even affected. Now, I have to go beg the London School of Economics for a whole new registry number to send to the Border Agency within the next seven working days, or else my visa application will be rejected once again. At least things like this are making me concentrated again on something productive after lounging around at home doing absolutely nothing for the past week and a half . But, even as I feel more and more scared about an

In the day and age when the economic and international political power of a rising China is no longer doubted, the image of the country abroad has, at the same time, been declining steadily. While her economic freedom has increased, there is increasing criticism regarding a lack of a corresponding increase in political freedom. And what's more worrisome is the fact that the continued strict social controls are bound to make her proud export- and investment-led economic growth to ground to a halt as people get both wealthier and older in age.

My family rarely finds itself as a complete whole. With my attending school in Connecticut and London and running all over Asia-Pacific in between , and my father running his own research lab in Shanghai and attending conferences around the world, the family is often split up in three pieces, three countries, and even three continents. Its only so often that we can actually have family meal together, especially on my birthday. The rare coincidence called for a quick visit to the neighborhood Chinese restaurant on the eve of my birthday . Physically speaking, San Diego and US as a whole certainly has not changed much during my one-and-a-half-year absence. But just by going to a meal in the restaurant, the superficial sameness goes away, and much gloomy changes reveal themselves. Specifically, I can say after a single meal that the general economic conditions in the US, after that financial crisis of 2008 , has not gone back up (as some expected), but pretty much stayed the s