This is another March with ups and downs.
At the beginning, there was teachers’ gathering for our Chinese school. Then, my daughter went for wisdom teeth extract – not one tooth, but all four. Even thinking about it has been a bit stressful. The idea is that it takes the same time to recover, four at the same time is better than four times of one. We were comforted that many kids went through the same thing. It turned out that she could only get two out of the four done; it still involved lots of hot soups and soft food in the week after the surgery.
This month, o
ne of my life to-do lists was checked-off. After many years of talking, we finally went to Indian Wells, California to watch the tennis master and to watch Roger Federer while he is still playing. Indian Wells are sometimes considered as the fifth slam in tennis, though not as well-known as the four major. The crowd was no less and this year more audience than that of French Open in Paris. It felt like Disneyland theme parks just two hours away from Indian Wells. There were lines to the food booths, lines to the stadium, lines for water refill; and things were pretty expensive. The whole atmosphere has been festive.
We went there to watch the second and third round over a weekend, There were many matches, men and women’s, happening on courts. We even waited at practice court for Federer who did not show, we did not wait as long as many other but equally disappointed. The star power was amazing; it felt like we were in concerts for two whole days. Federer always get a full house, even when playing in Doubles on Saturday. It can be felt in the air that people just love to watch him play, wish 
for his win and sad if he loses. This was unusual when we are used to root for underdogs in sports. The weather was in the 90s, so it took some physical strength to be an audience, as matches went from 11am to beyond 9pm. We were able to watch Federer both days, plus many other stars Williams, Djokovic, Nadal, Nishikori…. We are looking forward to a return trip next year and yet to decide whether we go for the early rounds or finals.
Was it the desert heat? Was it some virus? Was it allergy? I end up getting sick on my return. Recently, the experience of sickness is both physical and mental. When younger, it seems that the effect is more physical and recovery is faster. Is it the virus becoming more potent, or is it pure aging? It seems
that the virus back then was more to take you down totally for a day or two days, then we were good again; now the virus seems to be more causing you discomfortFull Brochure 1-29-15 (1) for weeks; and it made one look like the worst passport photo. Mentally, I feel easier to recover from 1 or 2 days’ of total down time than 3 or 4 weeks of lingering fatigue that starts to affect not just day-to-day activities, but also things that need to be planned out. This time, I lost 2 weeks to plan for the college campus tours for my daughter ‘ when I was well enough to pick it up, the airfare was more than doubled and the flight route was not as inconvenient, that maybe an illustration of the time value of money in the end. Other than financial impact, getting sick affects the rhythm of life, work routine, fitness routine; and those take effort to resume. Spring is beautiful, but not as much, when the virus and allergy is knocking you down.
re, not lack of confidence, just more devices; we look ‘forward’ often to our computer. We look around less. And even less to stop and smell the roses.
this “Wellness Panel for Parents (of the teens)” with high school principal, assistant principal, a doctor and a psychologist on the panel, they share their thoughts on the many challenges facing parents and their teens. Many teenagers sleep far less than the recommended 8 to 9 hours. The pattern starts with a lack of enthusiasm in school (subjects), the stress to have to do well in grades, the mountains of homework and reading, puberty effect and the transition towards adulthood. These difficulties breed avoidance – when the school hours are over, the teens d
ecompress through games, internet, napping or other things but school work. As they start on homework in the late night, they finish by early morning, and in 5 hours or so, they are on the way to school again, totally sleep deprived and often without a decent breakfast. In the intertwining relationship between physical and mental state, an unhealthy youth is more prone to an unstable mental state; and vice versa. Aren’t parents helpless in getting our loved ones out of the blues and maybe at times, be part of giving them stress?
ework.
years. Many people talk about peak at some years, and from then onwards, it is all downhill. There is that gradual loss of abilities, physical or mental or both; there is that reduction of learning; there is that reaching quota on things that used to grasp our interests. For those who remember the green monitor about thirty years ago, the computer aging process feels different. It becomes slower, left alone, and then is being replaced. Its deterioration is not as unpleasant as human aging amidst illness or suffering or the burden of loved ones.
would think about it in future is most likely different from how I think about it now. Someone in Switzerland said of facilities to trade all the money with the life-long service to take care of you. When the day comes, the physical body and the financial asset go together.
dam Dalgliesh
ntain; and more often to improve. Easier to say than declaring a pure lack of talent, I have never got close to that time commitment, and expectedly, my skills are very far from where I want it to be. Human could be strange species, sometimes, we just want to keep pounding on things that we are not very good at.
and fans around the world for all the tournaments. Peers support him to win the “Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award” for a record 10 years; Fans support him to win the “Fans’ favorite Award” for a record and consecutive 12 years; and many places he plays, he receives “home court advantage” through the support and cheering of the spectators. There are often so much things to learn from– how he plays, how he faces adversities, how he faces the press, how he manages losses and wins. All can give inspirations to other facets of lives, if we so choose.
to a new company is no easy task, yet the experience is often among the memorable moments in our career. It feels like an exciting traveler to a foreign country of different culture and a different language. Like a traveler, there are many things that the initial impression could define the remaining journey. It may be uncomfortable, it may be surprising; yet, it is rejuvenating.
few classics, I prefer reading original novel to translated novel. Why would one want to depend on the quality of translation? Sometimes, the translated version feels like something amiss. This book “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage” by Haruki Murakami (村上春樹) recounts a remarkable story of Tsukuru, that shines from the original Japanese version to the English translation. And how often is a book related to such a beautiful musical piece of the “Years of Pilgrimage” by Franz Liszt?
e far.
interviewers. If again you run into unprepared interviewers or ask so general the questions, it is hard not to question that they are likely to recommend candidates with similar profiles as themselves. Unprepared interviewers are either overloaded or hiring is not their priority. Neither seems to represent the position well. And how likely would these companies embrace diversity in their core values?
e to solve.
oliviatamccue 