Earlymorning,Mr.Zhaodrovemetograndma'shome
toattendmycousin'sWedding.Thevillagewasin
thecounty'seconomicbackwater.Peopletherehad
anaccentandwerenicerandmoreclosely
connected.Manyguestshadarrivedonedayearlier
andspentthenightinrelatives'homesnearby.
Thiswasahistoricalmoment.Lookingatthe
gorgeousnewcouple,Icouldn'thelpremembering
thelasttwogene...[
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Dad'scaretakerwas71-year-oldMr.Zhao,atough
restlessex-farmerandfitasafiddle.Hiswife
(20yearsyounger)workedthesameprofession.
Whenshedidn'thavework,shewouldaccompany
himatdad'splace.Theywereneitherrichnor
beautifulandhadhadmorethantheirshareof
miseryandsuffering.Buttheywerecontent,
appreciativeofeachother,andfulloflife.
Duringmystay,thecouplecamearound...[
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IwaslookingforanironfortheclothesIwas
abouttowash.Dadimmediatelypointedtoa
cabinetwherehekepttheonemomhad.Themoment
feltalmostmagicbutIopenedthedoorandthere
itwas,the400W220V1986Egret,initsoriginal
box.Untouchedbytheyears,itbroughtbackall
thememories.
Thosedays,momwasalaborerinastate-owned
restaurantbutonthesidelinesheworkedtobea
tailorandhadbigplans.Later,sh...[
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Iwasfatandweakfromkindergartentoearly
collegeandmostPEactivitieswerehardforme.
Everysemester,Ihadtotrytomeetseveral
standards(Idon'trememberenjoyinganyoneof
them)andthepullupwashighonthehatedlist.
Lookingback,itisobviousthatthepullupis
importantenoughforcountriestomakeit
mandatoryinPE.
CollegewasbetterasThePowersThatBefinally
sentweight-losshormonesandIgo...[
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Overthepastyears,Ihavebeenimplementing
thesethreeideasarticulatedsowellbyMichael
Pollaninhisbook"InDefenseofFood."Here'sa
reportonmyexperiences.
First,somebackground.Attheageof40,obese
andpre-diabetic,Istartedtocountcaloriestolose
weight.Thatandthedailyonehourfastwalk
helpedmetolosethefirst40lbs.Itwasinthe
processIdiscoveredPollan.
Soon,Izoomedin...[
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IfirstvisitedSFinAugust2000asasummerintern.
Forfourmonths,Irentedabedina2ndfloorliving
roomatacorneronwestNoriegaSt.Everymorning,
Iwouldrideabustotheeastendofthecityand
hopontoCalTraintoworkinMillbrae.Comingback
thesameroutewouldtakeanother1.5hours.During
weekends,I'deithergotoworkorreadatthe
Border'sbookstore(longgone)atStonestown.Atthe
time,languagewas...[
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Incollege,IrememberedseeingonTVagirl
doingyogabythesea.Itwasofcourseno
usetome,Ithought,andjustsomeexotic
calisthenicsfromaremotepeoplewhom
XuanZangthemonkdraggedhisfeetformany
yearstovisit.Iwouldnevermeetthem(Wrong!).Itwasmuchmoreprofitable
formetopouroverbooksandpasstests.
(MaybeIwasright.)
Fast-forward20yearsofpassingtests,
pouringoverbooks,andcomputerprog...[
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Wejoinedthedowntowncrowdataround1:30pm.
Afterseeingseveralkids'gamesneartheentrance,
Timdecidedtowalkaroundabitbeforepartingwith
hisdollars(Hebrought$13andIgavehim$20).
Wehadagoodtimeatthebooths.Onecouple
carvedseaanimalshapesoutofwood,matchingthe
material'soriginalcolorandshape.Someofthem,
e.g.,anoctopusfromtherootsofatree,were
veryimpressive.Atanotherpl...[
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After30iterationsofSuryaNamaskara(SunSalutation),
IescortedTimoutofthehouseataround7:10am.His
weightwentupthismorningandwedecidedtohikethe
MissionPeakinsteadofourusualweekendwalkor
skate-boarding.
Itwasafoggymorningandperfectforhiking.Thestreet
leadingtothetrailheadwaspackedandwehadtopark
fartherdowntheroad.Theclimbwassteepbutwewerein
goodshape.Onerunnerpassedb...[
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Afteronehourofsmoothdriveand30minata
Starbucks,Iarrivedatasmallgyminatownto
thenorthofSanFrancisco.Ataround8:25am,
moststudentswereonthematsstretching.I
checkedinwithRicatthefront.Heappearedin
hisearly40sandwasshort(about5'5"),dark,
andverymuscular.Hehadafriendlysmile.
Thestudentswereayoungpersonaltrainerfrom
MountainView,a40-somethingfiremanwho
pr...[
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