Monday, November 14, 2005
It's over
Well, it's pretty much over! I defended last week and passed! This week is the low-key official finish - handing in the written dissertation. It's been such a crazy 3+ months that my body cannot physically handle it anymore. I've been sick now almost one month continuously! First was three weeks of bronchitus and now after the defense, it's a cold. I think my body is telling me something... I'm a little surprised, not that many people have asked me this: How do you feel now that you're done? Actually, it's not so much feeling like having accomplished a goal and that I'm doctored. I just feel relieved that it's finally over! After all this time and effort! It's over. Right this very moment, I could care less if I hadn't passed so long as this struggle ends. I don't care that I made a mistake in my presentation and said something wrong which one of my committee members corrected me on. There have been many moments before where self doubt has crept in and depression set in. Will I finish? Am I wasting everybody's time? (Fast forward a couple of years...) Well, who cares? I'm done with this lifestyle now! I'm so over it already. Ready for the next step into the "real world", whatever that is. But, whatever the future brings, "Let there be light." (Fiat Lux)
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Progress Report
In case you're just joining this blog, when we left off...
I was one month into writing my dissertation.
I was two months into being a father.
It was three months after I accepted a job on the East coast.
Now we join the action in progress...
After two full months at the computer writing, I have finished all chapters, except for the abstract and some minor readjustments and figure corrections. I am on schedule to send the document approved by my advisor to the other committee members. I have almost confirmed the time, date (next month) and location of my oral defense.
Watching my three-month old baby sitting in his bouncy chair, I saw that he has improved his motor skills. He regularly smiles, sucks on his thumb and grabs things intensionally. As my mother-in-law said, "Every day for him is valuable" for his development. I realized this weekend that his 1 year post conception day is coming up. It is amazing to think that almost a year ago, a sperm and an egg became one cell and has divided and divided, and grown into our very adorable 13-lb son!
As for relocation to New Jersey... today, I confirmed our three seats on a one-way flight to Princeton two months from now. Junko has been talking with mortgage lenders and real estate agents regarding possibilities of home ownership in the new area.
Among all these rapid developments, I stand strong. It is not a time to worry about the future. The future is here. I have to do what I have to do. Phinish-godDammit! Just do it.
I was one month into writing my dissertation.
I was two months into being a father.
It was three months after I accepted a job on the East coast.
Now we join the action in progress...
After two full months at the computer writing, I have finished all chapters, except for the abstract and some minor readjustments and figure corrections. I am on schedule to send the document approved by my advisor to the other committee members. I have almost confirmed the time, date (next month) and location of my oral defense.
Watching my three-month old baby sitting in his bouncy chair, I saw that he has improved his motor skills. He regularly smiles, sucks on his thumb and grabs things intensionally. As my mother-in-law said, "Every day for him is valuable" for his development. I realized this weekend that his 1 year post conception day is coming up. It is amazing to think that almost a year ago, a sperm and an egg became one cell and has divided and divided, and grown into our very adorable 13-lb son!
As for relocation to New Jersey... today, I confirmed our three seats on a one-way flight to Princeton two months from now. Junko has been talking with mortgage lenders and real estate agents regarding possibilities of home ownership in the new area.
Among all these rapid developments, I stand strong. It is not a time to worry about the future. The future is here. I have to do what I have to do. Phinish-godDammit! Just do it.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Duties of a dad
Well, it's been two months being a dad and it has seemed like forever! I can barely remember the pregnancy days and time before that. Anyway, it's been great. With the baby came a new job. So now I rush towards finishing up graduate work by year's end. I've gone back to school full time (Monday thru Friday) but at slightly reduced hours. Each morning I have the pleasure of being awaken by my son and feeding his day break bottle. Seeing the sun come up everyday with my baby is great, especially if he (and thus his parents) slept well during the night. I usually get a good 2 hours with him like this. After I come back from school, he is immediately handed over to my care. Sometimes I get to bottle-feed Terran again. Most nights, I get to give Terran his bath. It's usually a lot of fun. Sometimes I read to him and he seems to like that. ^o^ Other times, I play some jazz on the radio because he definitely likes that! He smiles when he poops... What more can you ask? This is the ultimate reality show. This is a dad's life!Monday, August 29, 2005
Bulldog
I did a trail run this weekend - the Bulldog Trail Run. 15.7 miles (25km) of trails in the Santa Monica Mountains. It was very hot. The scenery was fabulous. Since the mountain we ran up was one of the tall ones, we were able to see the surrounding mountains on one side and the Pacific on the other. I saw Catalina peeking above the clouds. Even though I had did a similar run previously, I had forgotten the beauty of the rock formations in the park. You get a glimpse of it as you enter the park by car. Don't be deceived though by this pretty-ness. It was a crazy race! We had to climb a 2,528 ft mountain, cross a stream, and run in a rocky, dried-up stream-bed. At several points, the trail narrows to one person wide. I felt like lemmings blindly following the person in front, barely able to see the step in front of me. Don't forget the small, nasty hill at the end that killed a couple of guys that I passed. I'm glad I didn't even consider doing the 50k, they do two loops!
This was the first race since my son Terran was born. It's been difficult getting my training in with school and caring for an infant. At times, I felt like running has become a very selfish thing. Since I come home tired from running, I don't have the energy level required to help my wife take care of the baby. It has been tough, but I might still continue some running because I think my stamina has been improving. At the same time, I have this huge push to finish up my dissertation before the year is up. Between training and the baby, some work days have shrunk to 4 hrs and lunch fits it there too! But, now the race is over and I won't have to take off two hours early on my training days. And, I have been leaving for work earlier and earlier as Terran sleeps more through the night (and so does my wife!) and morning childcare is shrinking.
This was the first race since my son Terran was born. It's been difficult getting my training in with school and caring for an infant. At times, I felt like running has become a very selfish thing. Since I come home tired from running, I don't have the energy level required to help my wife take care of the baby. It has been tough, but I might still continue some running because I think my stamina has been improving. At the same time, I have this huge push to finish up my dissertation before the year is up. Between training and the baby, some work days have shrunk to 4 hrs and lunch fits it there too! But, now the race is over and I won't have to take off two hours early on my training days. And, I have been leaving for work earlier and earlier as Terran sleeps more through the night (and so does my wife!) and morning childcare is shrinking.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Harry Potter 7 predictions
Recently finished Harry Potter 6: Half Blood Prince. BEWARE: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HP6. Skip this blog if you have not read HP6 yet.
For those of you have read HP6, you know what happened. We learn about double timing Snape, about Dumbledore's fate, and about Tom Riddle (Voldemort) - his past and horcruxes. Because of what happens, Harry decides to not go to school to focus full time on locating the horcruxes. Here are my predictions for the next installment.
** Hogwarts will NOT be closed.
** Harry will be coerced back to school, along with Ron and Hermione, for more education.
- I can't see how an inexperienced wizard like Harry can ever get through Voldemort's magical defences without more education. It took Dumbledore, a very wise wizard, to figure out the cave location, entrance, boat, and potion. Harry can't even apparate!
** Voldemort will not be killed in book 7.
- this will become a longer series since it'll take time to track down the other horcruxes and educate Harry. It might become like other comic heros whose stories go on and on....
** Dumbledore will return.
- Since this is the magical world, I'd expect something similar to what happened to Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.
To see if these predictions are right, I guess we'll have to wait patiently for the next installment. Until then, keep reading!
For those of you have read HP6, you know what happened. We learn about double timing Snape, about Dumbledore's fate, and about Tom Riddle (Voldemort) - his past and horcruxes. Because of what happens, Harry decides to not go to school to focus full time on locating the horcruxes. Here are my predictions for the next installment.
** Hogwarts will NOT be closed.
** Harry will be coerced back to school, along with Ron and Hermione, for more education.
- I can't see how an inexperienced wizard like Harry can ever get through Voldemort's magical defences without more education. It took Dumbledore, a very wise wizard, to figure out the cave location, entrance, boat, and potion. Harry can't even apparate!
** Voldemort will not be killed in book 7.
- this will become a longer series since it'll take time to track down the other horcruxes and educate Harry. It might become like other comic heros whose stories go on and on....
** Dumbledore will return.
- Since this is the magical world, I'd expect something similar to what happened to Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.
To see if these predictions are right, I guess we'll have to wait patiently for the next installment. Until then, keep reading!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
A crying baby
Now that it has been three full weeks with my new baby, Junko and I feel more confident in anticipating or interpreting many of his crys. We started out learning on the job by ourselves for the first week of his life. Next came my parents for a one week visit to help out since Terran came early and Junko's mom wasn't supposed to arrive to help for several more weeks. I don't know if Junko knows this: Anticipating that my Mom and Dad might give counter-productive assistance in caretaking of the baby, I told them not to do anything when the baby crys. Junko or I know what we are doing and will take care of him. I am sure that Junko was worried that my Mom would complain about our (her) child care or about her as a Mom. My parents quietly observed my request and (at least) I felt good about their unspoken trust of our parenting skills. I really appreciated their help in doing the laundry, getting groceries, cooking, dishwashing, and cleaning. But not in childcare. That was OUR job!
Now the roles have essentially reversed with the arrival of Junko's Mom and her sister Wako. Every morning, during my Daddy and Me time (~6:30-9am), it is my responsibility to feed Terran and look after him. Junko gets rest after her night shift. It is my greatest fear that Junko's Mom (or even Junko herself) comes out to 'help' with the crying baby. Unsolicited help makes one feel incompetent. (Mental note: this can be applied to many other areas in life.) Not only that, but many of her 'rules' have already been installed (from keeping Terran's little head straight while carrying him to sleeping with his face up instead of to the side). To add to my feeling of things quickly getting out of my (our) control, her toys and clothes are put into immediate circulation. So, now, Terran is wearing clothes that I don't think have been washed 'prior to first use' and his bed is teaming of new friends (toys) he isn't capable of playing with.... <sigh>..... I wonder if I should go work at school than work from home. Better yet, run to and from school to get my exercise too. ^o^ My preferred mode of relaxation.... <grin>
Now the roles have essentially reversed with the arrival of Junko's Mom and her sister Wako. Every morning, during my Daddy and Me time (~6:30-9am), it is my responsibility to feed Terran and look after him. Junko gets rest after her night shift. It is my greatest fear that Junko's Mom (or even Junko herself) comes out to 'help' with the crying baby. Unsolicited help makes one feel incompetent. (Mental note: this can be applied to many other areas in life.) Not only that, but many of her 'rules' have already been installed (from keeping Terran's little head straight while carrying him to sleeping with his face up instead of to the side). To add to my feeling of things quickly getting out of my (our) control, her toys and clothes are put into immediate circulation. So, now, Terran is wearing clothes that I don't think have been washed 'prior to first use' and his bed is teaming of new friends (toys) he isn't capable of playing with.... <sigh>..... I wonder if I should go work at school than work from home. Better yet, run to and from school to get my exercise too. ^o^ My preferred mode of relaxation.... <grin>
Friday, July 15, 2005
A Chinese name
English name:
Terran Wai Chow
Chinese name (Cantonese):
pronounced as Jou (as in the name of the ancient chinese dynasty Zhou) Gok (as in country) Wai (as in first character of Vitasoy, actually means "to link or safeguard")
Japanese nickname:
Te-chan
Birth date & time:
July 9, 2005, 12:11pm (saturday)
Birth weight:
6 lbs, 8 ozs
Birth length:
18.75 inches
Despite the fact that Terran decided to come out twenty days earlier than expected, there weren't many things we hadn't prepared for. Fortunately, my advisor hosted a baby shower the weekend before. We picked up any remaining items from Babies R Us the day after. We had come up with his English name, but not his Chinese name. Chinese names have three characters, first is the family name, second is a generational name that he shares with his male cousins, and his "personal" name last. His generational name we got from family still in Guangdong, China. Since his name was 2/3 decided by my side, we decided to let Junko's dad name his "personal" name. By the time we were at the hospital, we hadn't heard from Junko's father regarding the name. Of course, we learned just hours before our discharge from the hospital requires signing the birth certificate, which require a full name. We woke up Junko's mom at 1am Japan time to ask about the name. She turns around and calls Junko's dad who was in Taiwan (12 midnight)... Once we got the character in Mandarin, we had to figure out the pronounciation in Cantonese for his English spelling. After more head scratching, Junko's mom realizes that it's the same as vitamin in Chinese.... And that's the story of how we got Wai!
Terran Wai Chow
Chinese name (Cantonese):
pronounced as Jou (as in the name of the ancient chinese dynasty Zhou) Gok (as in country) Wai (as in first character of Vitasoy, actually means "to link or safeguard")Japanese nickname:
Te-chan
Birth date & time:
July 9, 2005, 12:11pm (saturday)
Birth weight:
6 lbs, 8 ozs
Birth length:
18.75 inches
Despite the fact that Terran decided to come out twenty days earlier than expected, there weren't many things we hadn't prepared for. Fortunately, my advisor hosted a baby shower the weekend before. We picked up any remaining items from Babies R Us the day after. We had come up with his English name, but not his Chinese name. Chinese names have three characters, first is the family name, second is a generational name that he shares with his male cousins, and his "personal" name last. His generational name we got from family still in Guangdong, China. Since his name was 2/3 decided by my side, we decided to let Junko's dad name his "personal" name. By the time we were at the hospital, we hadn't heard from Junko's father regarding the name. Of course, we learned just hours before our discharge from the hospital requires signing the birth certificate, which require a full name. We woke up Junko's mom at 1am Japan time to ask about the name. She turns around and calls Junko's dad who was in Taiwan (12 midnight)... Once we got the character in Mandarin, we had to figure out the pronounciation in Cantonese for his English spelling. After more head scratching, Junko's mom realizes that it's the same as vitamin in Chinese.... And that's the story of how we got Wai!
