Choose Strong
For Tim.
博文
(2022-06-01 09:41:37)
Theinexplicableinjurywentawayintwoweeks,mylowerbackfeltasgoodas
new,andIreturnedtojiu-jitsuwithrenewedcaution.Ihavelongnoticedthat
experiencedguys,especiallyabovethepurplebeltlevel,donotseemto
strugglewithalltheirstrengthinsparring.Iftheyarecaughtinabad
positionandfailtodefend,theysimplytap.Theyseemtotreatfightingasany
otherschoolsubject.CoachGene,everprotective,sometimesremindedmet...[閱讀全文]
(2022-05-29 16:28:10)
Tim'slastEnglishassignmentwastowriteaboutafamilyheirloombasedonan
interviewwithme.Iwassohappyreadinghisseconddraftandreflectionbelow.
Ironingoutafuturewithoutcreases
Thestoryofmyheirloomintertwineswiththatofmygrandmother.In1986,
whenmynow49yearoldfatherlivedinChina’sHebeiProvinceandattended
elementaryschool,hismotherbeganlearningthehumbleartoftailoring.
Shebecam...[閱讀全文]
(2022-05-25 13:17:08)
IneverthoughtIcouldenjoyreadingasocialscientist.FromwhatIknow,from
Taleb'sworksandmyownexperience,manyarepronetoignoremarginalbutvital
datatofittheirmodels.IhavebeenawareoftheauthorSamuelHuntingtonfora
whileandtriedacoupleoftimeshiswell-known"TheClashofCivilizationsand
theRemakingofWorldOrder."Itwasfullofmulti-syllabicwordsandfeltdull.
Instead,Iwasrecentlyattractedtohi...[閱讀全文]
(2022-05-18 16:14:50)
ThepopularTVserieswasbroughtupduringmycalltoafriendonMother'sDay.
Shelikedthediction,shetoldme.Imyselfwasimpressedbythescriptand
actingandstillrememberedafewdialogues.Moreover,Foyle'sWar(andDoc
Martin)mademeanAnglophile,fallinginlovewiththecultureandthescenary
oftheBritishsouthcoast.ItfeltalongtimesinceIlastwatchedit.
"FiftyShips"inseries2wasafavoriteepisodeand...[閱讀全文]
(2022-05-16 10:46:53)
12dayspassedsinceMon,May2whenIinjuredmyselfsparringwithTim.The
backhurtalmostthesamewayafterdeadliftingwithapoorform.Thefirstfew
days,Icouldn'tdoanything.Gettingupfromthecouchtooksomemajoreffort
andalotofgrimaces.Therecoveryhadbeensteady,however.Inoneweek,Iwas
abletoresumemymorningroutine,theTibetanfiverites,plus21bridges.
Itturnedout,however,thatmyrighthandsufferedaworsedam...[閱讀全文]
(2022-05-12 17:15:57)
ThreeWhiteGuards*wereatthedoor.Inchalkycoverallsandwhitemasks
showingnothingbuttheeyesbehindthefacescreens,theylookedchilly,
sterile,andlikebulkyrobotsjustofftheassemblyline.Volunteersforthe
government's"dynamic-zero"effort,theyseemedtransformedoncedonningthe
uniformswhichnotonlyfendedoffthedeadlyvirusbutalsoseemedtoendow
thepowertogiveandtakeaway.
"Youneed...[閱讀全文]
(2022-05-07 07:18:09)
JanuaryhastheNewYear,FeburaryoftenhastheChineseNewYeartolook
forwardto,andMarchusuallyisthebusiestatworkplace.Billhadnotpaid
muchattentiontoApriluntil2022.Thecloudsoftentookhalfoftheskyand
hidthesunbehind,leavingtheotherhalfbrightandsapphireblue.Thebare
branchesofthegingkotreeshadbeengussiedupinafewweekstofulljade
greensummerattire.Rainswereagaintoomuchtoaskandafewshowerswere
che...[閱讀全文]
(2022-05-04 09:54:19)
IwaswalkingonairlastSaturdayasAprilendedagreatmonthinjiu-jitsuand
theprogessseemedreal.Myphysicalconditionhadimprovedtotakeonthe
five-class-a-weekgrapplingroutine.Ievenjogged,whichIhadn'tforalong
time,forfivemilesonFridaywhenIdidn'ttrain.Thewindwasbehindmyback
andIwasstartingtogetsomewhere.
ItwasattheendofMondayeveningclassthatIwentforTimtosparthelast
round.Ihadgoneth...[閱讀全文]
(2022-04-30 09:09:32)
Sneezingandcoughing,likelyfromallergy,keptmeoutofthegymformostof
thefirstweek.(ItestednegativeforthesecondtimeforCovid.)Things
bouncedbackinthenextweekexceptthatIheadbuttedTimwhendoingatakedown
drillonApr13.Histonguewasbadlycutandthekidwasonthebrinkoftears.
Ifeltterribleforthreedays.Herecoveredquickly.Ilearntapainfullesson.
Ninelongmonthsoftraininghadmoldedmybodyforjiu-jitsu.Mys...[閱讀全文]
(2022-04-27 09:33:31)
IwastalkingaboutreligionwithMr.Wu,mygradschoollab-mate,15yearsago,
whenIasserted"YoucanbelieveorrefuteChrist,butyoucannotignorehim."I
wasadamantashewasdefiant."IWILLignorehim.Sowhat?!"myfriendretorted.
Thosewerethegoldenyearsofglobalization.Lifewassimpleandweworkedin
Siliconvalleyandvacationedintheoldcountry.Ourcirclesconsistedofpeople
likeus,young,well-educa...[閱讀全文]
