Guard Your Heart

Having read about the swindle that 250 some university professors got involved in, I felt ashamed of them. Then in class I shared my disappointment, anger, and expectation with my students, who will graduate this coming summer. The title for this posting is from the Bible--"Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23)

Qyite a lot of examples in the Bible and in our daily lives have proved the fact that men tend to corrupt more rapidly and easily as they are getting old. King Solomon, the wisest man in the world, became corrupted and sinned against God when he was old--he had seven hundred wives and 300 concubines. King David, the king God loved the most, was Solomon's father. He was in love with a soldier's wife, so he sent that soldier to the battle field and took the soldier's wife. Because of the sin (adultery and murder) he committed, he had to pay the price. As for the ones who are still living, I think Chen Shui-bian is the best example. Where is this former president of ours now? Who would believe the most powerful person in a country would steal money from the country he was leading? The examples above remind us that we human beings are too vulnerable to fight against temptations such as fame, wealth, power, and sex.

However, we can overcome/beat corruptions by guarding our hearts. We can do two things to keep our integrity: First, we have to try our best to get away from all the temptations. For example, when taking exams, we should choose to sit on the first row where teachers can see us without difficulties. Don't sit in an area where you can't be seen easily. Second, examine our heart and mind regularly by meditating on the evil thoughts, bad words, or rude behaviors we have come up with. If something bad is detected, we should write it down to remind us not to say the same thing or make the same mistake again.
As your teacher, I think I should teach you important things as well as grammar. If I didn't teach you what I think you should know, I would feel I didn't do my job well. I may not see you again before you graduate from Tunghai, so I wish you all the best and hope that you can be decent people with integrity. Our country needs people like you!
As your teacher, I think I should teach you important things as well as grammar. If I didn't teach you what I think you should know, I would feel I didn't do my job well. I may not see you again before you graduate from Tunghai, so I wish you all the best and hope that you can be decent people with integrity. Our country needs people like you! (410 words)

Hugs

As a person who likes to “touch” people, I enjoy physical contacts more than many other women. It’s mainly because of two men, the ones I’ve loved most in my life—my father and my husband.

Father, a quiet man, doesn’t know how to express his love in words. I remember Father liked to hold my small hands whenever he walked with me. Sometimes when I was acting up, he would scold me. But after he did that, he would put me on his lap stroking me on my back while he was telling me why he was angry at me. However, I didn’t realize this was the way he showed his love for me until I met my husband. Like my father, my husband shows his affection and concern by touching me a lot. For example, when I am crying while watching a sad movie on TV, he would hand me some facial tissues and then pat me on my hand to comfort me. When I get angry, he would sometimes hold me into his arms to calm me down. When I go to bed, he would always tuck me in and kiss me “Good night!” However, of all the body contacts, “hug” is what I like most. Every day he gives a hug before I go to work. When I am embraced in his arms, I feel I am safe and fully appreciated and loved. What a wonderful feeling it is!

I believe that one hug carries more love and concern than one thousand words does and that we all can benefit from hugging each other. Let’s do it as often as we can to let our family and friends know how much we love them!

Linsanity

Having caught "Linsanity" for two weeks, I follow almost every NBA game he was in. Since I had never watched any NBA games before, I had a lot to catch up on. For example, how many players is each team allowed to have? What does "point guard" mean? In order to find out the answer to every single question I had, I did a lot of research. As a teacher, doing research is part of my job duties, so I have no problem with this "research project". I can all the information online. While watching games, I can ask my husband for help. Though he doesn't follow NBA, he is a loyal fan of the NCAA. His knowledge about basketball is far enough for me, the beginner of the NBA Knicks' fan.
I don't know how the real NBA fans look at me and many other Taiwanese people who started watching NBA games because of Jeremy Lin. I admit I'm not a real NBA fan, but I have watched more than one NBA game since I got "Linsanity". Within these two weeks, I know a lot about the NBA. I know what goal tending is. I also know the role of a point guard. More importantly, I've eye witnessed Jeremy Lin's humble side.
Jeremy Lin's Taiwanese blood has made every single Taiwanese proud of him. Jeremy Lin's unselfish play has inspired his teammates to play less selfishly. Though I don't know if  Carmelo Anthony can play as unselfishly as Jeremy Lin. I believe sooner or later Melo will change. See, this is a good example of "one person can change a group of people." Thanks to this good example, I pray I can be a good influence for my students!

Had She Been Married to a Different Man

While watching Jeremy Lin playing Minnesota Timberwolves on TV, I happened to read the news about Whitney Houston's death. Shocked, I switched to Channel 6--CNN to double check the news. Yes, it's true--she died at her room at the Hilton Hotel! As soon as I knew the news was true, my first reaction was "Oh, no, don't tell me she died of drug abuse."  All of a sudden, Whitney Houston's death dampened the excitement of watching Jeremy Lin. After turning off TV, I turned on my laptop. Here I am blogging in my own valley.
Having lived for more than half a century, I have to admit my world is comparatively simpler and smaller than most others of my age. For example, I've seldom had the experience of feeling excited and then sad a minute later. I want to thank God for lack of this experience in my life. Only people who cherish simplicity and are blessed enough to be immune from such unbearable turmoils as destitution, divorce,  serious illnesses, or death can understand the lack of the experience of such extreme emotions is a blessing.  
Though nobody else should be responsible for whatever we do except us, I still think the ones we love or associate with may have an impact on us to a degree. "If Whitney Houston had not been married to Bobby Brown, maybe she would have had a different life." This is what I said to my husband. Right after that, I added, "I'm glad I'm married to a right man because our marriage has helped me change into a person I like better." Though Dan said nothing, I knew he appreciated my words.

The Shadowlands

When did I first know about C.S. Lewis? Not until I watched the movie The Shadowlands! I have to say it's a shame for me not to know anything about this great author earlier. Actually, what made me go to this movie was not C.S. Lewis but my favorite actors Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. Fascinated by Hopkins' acting in The Silence of the Lambs, I started following every movie he was in, especially the ones which portrayed the reserved British man. In the early 1990s, I got to see Howard's End, The Remains of the Day, and The Shadowlands. That was how I knew about C.S. Lewis. Though it was kind of late to know such a worldwide famous writer, it was never too late to start. 
As a Christian, I've heard quite a lot of sermons or read some articles which quoted C.S. Lewis' words, especially Nicky Gumbel's Alpha program. The more quotes I heard/read about, the more I wanted to know about C.S. Lewis. That was how I started collecting and reading his books. His writings about Christianity are so fascinating but hard to digest that I "chew" his ideas sentence by sentence. While reading, very often I have to regurgitate like a cow. For me, reading C. S. Lewis is time consuming but worthy of my time. So when I have time and mood for reading, I like to spend an hour of so chewing a few pages of his thinking. How wonderful it is to be able to read C. S. Lewis!

FM Station

As a free-lance editor, my husband works at home. Due to his quiet nature and sensitiveness to noise, he's led a secluded life. However, he knows it's not healthy to be a 24-hour homebody. In order to keep his sanity and privacy, he tries to do his daily exercise--walking on campus at night when the weather permits. Besides walking, he likes to spend some time at FM Station, a bakery which is across from the market in our neighborhood. He goes there 4 times a week, and every time he goes there, he orders exactly the same items to read with--a glass of iced green tea and a roll filled with creme. Then if the bakery is not crowded, he would sit at the same table reading for a couple of hours.
Every time before he goes, he asks me if I would like to go with him. 8 out 10 times my answer would be "No." Since I don't spend too much time at home, I want to enjoy being a couch potato when I have free time. How about the only two times when I say "Yes"? Only when I want to go to the market and when I want to please him, I would agree to go with him. 
To be honest, FM Station is a very nice place to spend some afternoons when it's not crowded. This bakery has only 10 tables in its right side--8 tables for two people and 2 for four people. Most customers are regular ones, who want to get away from their chores. It's not a fancy bakery and doesn't have comfy chairs, so young people or lovers don't go there.  Only housewives with their toddlers, middle-aged people, or freelancers like my husband would station there because of the low price of the drinks and rolls (3-4 US dollars). Though I don't like to go there, I enjoy their music a lot. Somehow the owner has his special taste about music--old Latin and English songs. Many restaurants play old English songs, but I haven't found another place which provides Spanish songs. Having spent two years in Spain, I LOVE to listen to songs in Spanish.  
Thanks to FM Station, my husband has a motive to stay outside for a couple of hours every afternoon. Long live to FM Station!

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is only two days away. Living 150 kilometers away from my parents, I haven't decided when to go back to Taipei--a day before the New Year's Eve or the New Year's Eve? Normally, I wait until New Year's Eve to go back because that's the day my husband feels like going. However, he doesn't seem want to go with me this year. Used to his cancelling our plans at the last minute, I am not upset but disappointed. Since my parents are getting older, I don't know how many more Chinese New Years I can celebrate with them. I hope my husband and I can celebrate every single one we have. But going back to be with my family has been a torture for my husband, who is super sensitive to noise and human contacts. Therefore, during the past 18 years, I either go back to Taipei alone or go with him when he feels up to it. If I go back alone, I'll stay in Taipei a couple of days longer than when I go back with him. The longest time he can manage is 3 days and nights (New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and Daughter's Day). We leave for Taipei in the late morning of the New Year's Eve and come back to Taichung in the early morning of the third day (the day after Daughter's Day).
Though I feel disappointed that Dan is not going back with me, I'm still grateful that I live in a city which is only 150 kilometers away, not three thousand miles away!