You've got to be tough

那天，我听见WW在客厅对她老公叫到，“我成了尼姑，你干脆也做个手术算了，一个尼姑，一个和尚，正好”。说此话，乃是因为她要去做子宫切除手术。

“医生怕我的子宫肌瘤癌变，所以干脆叫我整个 割掉，省事。”WW说。

昨天WW做完手术了，本来医生要她昨完手术就回家，但她强烈要求住院一天，因为上次做过一次比这个小的手术，麻药还在起作用的时候就被赶了回来，结果在回家的车上吐得一塌糊涂。好歹是个中等手术，医生也就同意了。

今天WW回来了，从车上下来，弓着背，拄着一把伞当 拐杖，巅巅地进了屋。进门的时候对我说，你以后生孩子就这样。

回家吃药，什么药，医生就给开了止疼药。

WW感叹说，在美国生病，You’ve got to be tough.

Mikado

Today we went to a restaurant called Mikado. Mikado is an emperor of Japan. The walls of the restaurant is decorated with Japanese portraits. A large Sushi bar is against the entrance. The waitresses are in Japanese style wear. We went there because we were told they offered very nice Sushi and Japanese BBQ.

A few minutes after we sat down, we found that all the waitresses are Chinese. Actually, like most of Chinese restaurants around here, most of them are from Fujian. Later I was told that the boss was a Chinese too.

It turned out that this dinner was more about watching than eating. The best part about this expensive dinner, which was around $50 a head, was that while we were eating, a cook would do the BBQ before us over a flat metal board (i went to such place before, but never in the U.S., so it was still kind of fun). In short, the dinner was about watching this cook performing cooking. Before he started, he threw out some tricks with his cooking gears, throwing them into the air, receiving and making some noise at the same time. One of the games was that the cook threw off a piece of cucumber and you were supposed to receive it by your mouth. I was the only one who made it at the first shot. Whenever he spread seasoning over the food, his another hand would make some rhythmic sound with his cooking tool.

At another moment, while I saw the cook reaching for one of the seasoning bottles beside him, he suddenly pointed the bottle to me, and I saw something dark out of the bottle splashing to me. I closed my eyes by instinct. After I opened my eyes, I looked around to see if I got something on my face or my clothes. Well, I was just too slow to realize that he was playing a trick on me. The dark stuff I saw turned out to be a string. It was sent off from the bottle while the cook pinched the bottle. This was a nice game. It got me.

The food was good, but definitely not good enough for its price. Later when more people filled in the room, I found that almost half of the guests were small children. Well, these tricks are definitely cool for kids.

Later uncle concluded that the more and more restaurants would attract their customers by these side orders rather than main dishes.

I concluded that Japanese restaurants will become cheaper sooner or later. Where Chinese restauranteurs are flooding in, Japanese owners can hardly handle the pressure.

A Long Day

I got up at 6 in order to get to town before 8. I was going to do translation for a woman who got a lawsuit against a restaurant, and she just got her deposition. She does not speak English, but she was unable to get a capable lawyer who speaks Chinese. So I was here to translate for her and her lawyer.

But this lady made me wait for her 40 minutes anyway. When we hurried to her lawyer’s office, her lawyer, DD, was obviously unhappy. She told me DD was Jewish. I could not tell from his appearance though. He looked like a nice guy. He ran through some questions with her. At one point, I saw him so pissed that his hands hold his head, face crimson, because his client was not answering what were asked. At another point, he told me that he thought she was lying about some facts. I believed it became frustrating to both sides mostly because they could not talk directly to each other.

Before we left for the deposition, Dd asked me if I wanted to go with them. I asked if he needed me. He said they had interpreter at the deposition, but I could join him if I wanted. Then I decided to go with them.

We finally got to the opposing counsel’s office which is located right beside the city hall. DD’s opponent is Jewish as well, which I could tell at the first sight.

These two men fought like two cocks soon after they met. The other side said I could not go in there. After I told DD, he said, “Yes, you are going in”. Then these two cocks started fighting at the corridor.
“She can not go in there. We have the interpreter already.”
“She is going to interpret for me. Why cannot she go in? Show me the rule. Show me the rule.” DD fought back.
Then they started fighting in lawyer’s way, which involved some legal terms that I hardly understood.
Finally, DD said to me and his client, “You two stay here, and you both will go in later.”

Then we waited in the lobby for almost one and half hour while DD was questioning the defendant. When it came to the time for the opposing counsel to question the plaintiff, she was already exhausted. She told me she didn’t eat anything for 8 hours.
“All of them don’t have lunch?” she asked me before we went into the meeting room.
“I guess so.”

I was able to get in there. Obviously DD won the battle over this issue. I thought it was a lawyer’s vanity and that I told him that I wanted to go to law school earlier that he was determined to get me in.

There sat a pretty girl in the room, who was supposed to be from the court. She swore in the interpreter and the plaintiff. The interpreter was a middle aged guy. He seemed to dislike a brat cat like me sitting opposite to him.

While the opposing counsel questioning his client, DD relaxed himself by reading newspapers. I knew he was not really reading. I saw his hand a little bit shaky while reaching for his coffee cup. I saw many lawyers have such nervous shaking. They were not really always worried by particular things. They were simply a bunch of hypertension victims. I once read an article saying that nervous people should not go for professions like medicine and law, but nervous people tend to go for them anyway. Who knows if it is law makes one nervous or nervousness makes a lawyer.

DD interrupted his opponent once a while. There were humors and satires. They were obviously friends who happened to fight against each other over somebody else’s problem.

From 8am to 4pm, the only thing I took in was a candy DD gave me, and a cup of coffee. Head dizzy, I decided to leave before them. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I heard them fighting over my appearance again.

“Your interpreter is not court-approved.”
“How do you know she is not? Is your interpreter court-approved? Show me the proof……”

Sunday dinner

Sunday dinner I had with Jinnie. She has gone back the hospital after her position was suspended there for almost two years because of immigration status. She said the job was killing her. She felt her age. She got night shift at least once a week, which means she has to work 40 hours straight and work on a normal schedule the rest of the week. That is what all first year residents get. “A doctor’s money does not come easy.” She said.

what is interesting is that her husband feels the pressure of having a doctor wife, so he decided to go to law school. He took the LSAT last year, and applied to some schools. He refuses to tell her anything about his score and his application.

She said, she got the job she wanted, she got her green card and she has a happy marriage, but she is still not happy. She said that was the sad part about her life, because she is always unsatisfied. People who are never satisfied won’t be happy.

She is among the very few friends of mine who fall into the category of “unconventional” as I defined. She said she was in between Chinese and American culture which sometimes makes her at loss. She could not comfortably fit in both sides. She has been dating Americans before she came to the U.S., and she married an American. She still enjoys talking with Chinese friends better. She doesn’t want children. She said if she were offered a chance to work in Africa right now, she would just pack and go. She thinks of going back to China, but is not sure if there is a right place for her. She said, I just cannot stop looking around and hoping for something new and exciting.

I told her that was exactly what made her particularly attractive as a person. I was not paying compliment. I like her personality. Most people of her age have stopped dreaming.

People are basically alike. People are unsatisfied with their life, but most choose to ignore, settle down, compromise and stop looking away from what they already have. It is probably simply a fantasy that there is always something better out there. People who choose to push forward don’t find things better, but they definitely experience things different. There is always a price for going either way.

Life is a choice. What a cliche.

今日写意

去图书馆的路上， 一位战战巍巍的老人站在她的车旁，向我微笑。
Can you do me a favor?
Sure.
她要我帮她投一个硬币到计费器里，因为她没有办法跨上路沿。

一辆飞驰而过得校车上，每一个窗户都探出一个小头来，他们朝着路旁的行人招手，欢快地叫着，Hello Hello!

连续两天在图书馆看到这个衣衫不齐，头发凌乱的人，他随身背着一个铺盖卷，进图书馆就把他的铺盖卷放到窗户边上的沙发上，不是看杂志就是上网，看起来像一个流浪者。 今天中午看到他的时候，他牵着一只大黑狗，看起来也是好久没有洗过澡的样子。美国的流浪者都是很有个性的。

给Icecube 打电话，他问，心情好了？我说，好了，好极了。

A Dog?

When I ran this morning, I passed by a couple who were having coffee before their house, with their dog playing on the lawn. The dog ran to me when he saw me. I slowed down. To be honest, I am still afraid of dogs. A mother dog jumped at me while I was looking at her babies when I was 7 years old. The scar she left on my leg is still visible. But here in the U.S., it seems inappropriate to show your fear to a dog their owner takes as their best friend.

Anyway when I saw the dog running towards me, I stopped. It was a big black dog, a little bit overweight, like his master. However, the dog showed me a friendly face. So I touched him, while his master told me that his dog’s name was Zigen and he was a people dog. I touched him more. The dog then gave me a more intimate gesture, lying down before me and rubbing his head against my legs. I immediately started to like him.

Then I said goodbye to Zigen and the couple and continued my running. I thought my fear of dogs would definitely be dismissed if I stay here long enough.

IceCube often says he will have a dog as soon as he can. He loves dog. I saw a picture taken in Beijing years ago when he sent off his dog to the countryside because the area where he lived was no longer allowed to keep big dogs. He was sitting in a bus, holding his dog with a very sad face. Whenever he says he wants a dog one day, I always say if you have your dog, I will have my cat. Dog and cat is a good pair. They could be friends, and enemies as well.

Probably a dog will be enough for both of us.

我的周末

一个周末下来，浑身酸疼，原因可能是进行了一些非常规活动，拉练 了一下平常很少能够活动到的身体部位。活动如下：
周五晚上，擦地。用一个半小时的时间将家里楼上楼下的地板擦了一遍，用擦桌子的方式来擦地，一个半钟头下来，已经累得只有说话的力气了。擦地的活不是没有做过，但这一次时间短，工作量大，如此的工作密度还是第一次。
周六晚上，跳舞。在CLUB里边摇头晃脑，晃了差不多三个小时，直到满头大汗，脚酸和耳鸣。CLUB叫SHAMPOO， 出来之后，我的一头秀发已经被折磨得不成样子啦。和我们一起的有一位四十左右的大姐，一直跳得很来劲，心里暗暗佩服，想自己到了这个年岁，绝对没有这样的勇气和一群年轻人在club里混。出来之后感觉不错，锻炼身体的目的已经达到，于是心满意足地和大家去吃夜宵，从来没有在凌晨两点在大街上晃，没想到还挺热闹。Chinatown的街上人还不少，餐厅里面得很满，很多人不是吃夜宵，而是鱼啊虾啊的大餐，啧啧。
周日上午，锄草。早上在睡眠缺乏的情况下毅然起床，本来想学学习自我安慰一下，但娇小的舅妈操起家伙开始修草坪（因为舅舅现在是病号），不好熟视无睹，只好捋起袖子帮她干活，我毕竟是新手，本来可以很轻松用的割草机我得使出吃奶的劲来推，直到快结束的时候才悟出其中的奥秘。
周日下午，洗车。夏天到了，JJ开车要敞篷了，为了不碍瞻观，她决定给车来一个彻底的卫生打扫。抹布和水龙头齐上。
周日晚上，搬书。将舅妈的多年的藏书从甲屋搬到已屋。结论：当图书管理员的感觉一般搬。
于是，现在，除了还想在键盘上敲几个字外，已经没有兴趣做别的了。不过心里还是有点着急，该抓紧时间学习啦。唉，还是学生的心理，不学习心里面不踏实， 难怪不论谁见了我都问，上什么学呢？很少有人问，上学还是工作？

踢毽子

发现家里的书架上搁着一只毽子。 于是跑到院子里玩。经过10分钟的练习，终于可以用右脚连续踢出16 个，同时，已经能感觉到腿根发酸了。哎， 想想小时候，用膝盖都能顶出不止16个。老了，老了。
独自玩了差不多20 分钟，还兴趣盎然， 童年时代的游戏总是让人想起池塘，柳树,教室何小伙伴。
仔细想想，似乎不论何时，能让你从内心体会到快乐的事情都和童年的记忆和孩童的乐趣有关系，要不有人说，人是活在记忆里的。
或者，孩子的思维是最容易让人快乐的思维，不幸的是，我们注定要失去。
By pure coincidence, right now I am reading the book the Necessary Loss. The basic idea is, you keep losing things all your life, babies losing their mothers, youths losing their parents, lovers losing the romance of love. But the loss is necessary. Loss and gain, the game of life.

Blank

I've got nothing to write about today. I didn't post yesterday, because i got nothing to write about. I was doing homework all day, and went to class in the evening. When I finally came back home, it was 12.

I expect something interesting to pop up today so I can at least write a few lines. But again, i've got nothing to post about for today.

So i am here writing nonsense.

Snake Phobia

So I got this month’s National Geographic.

This time of last month I was considering if I was going to renew the subscription with its early subscription promotion plan. First I decided not to. The reason was that in the single issue of April, at least two pictures with snakes popped up when I was totally unprepared-- I was flipping the pages with a cup of tea. One of them was so pathetic, I mean, as I see it—they put a lovely little baby with a huge boa.

I told IceCube that for this very reason, I was going to say farewell to my beloved magazine. IceCube said my phobic reaction had come to the extent of being abnormal. But I can do nothing. God has made women fear of snakes at the beginning of creation.

But it was not easy to say goodbye to an old love. A few days later, I put behind the grudge and sent off the renewal.

So today, I got an even more sickening one. A guy is lying in a bathtub with a dozen of snakes.

What can I say? It is like I can never turn my back to a person I like, if I love it, I have to take it as whatsoever it is, good or bad.

da sao wei sheng

今天给家里来了一次大扫除，整个早上都耗在上面了，主要原因是家里好久没有这样的打扫了。我在做清洁的同时，舅妈和来聊天的邻居讨论关于家庭主妇和打扫卫生的话题。邻居说，I love cleaning. 舅妈说，so do I. 然后附和邻居说打扫卫生是她生活中多么重要的一部分。说实在的，我在一旁暗想，舅妈是不是过于自信了，因为家里和很多我见过的美国人的家实在是不能比，擦完二楼地板之前，我已经换了好几桶水了。舅妈的确爱打扫卫生，但是她比我还要脆弱， 干会儿活就哎呀满天了，家里难得能有一次彻底打扫。