My Florida trip pic series (Atlanta & Great Smoky National Park)

Centennial Olympic Park & CNN, Atlanta, GA
The park is pretty and there was a concert going on there.
The CNN headquarters is just next to the park. I personally don't really like CNN, but I still took a pic there.. lol
Aug 17, 2009









Great Smoky National Park, NC&TN
Aug 18-19, 2009

I saw bear!
I saw a black bear!
I saw the black bear for 3 times!

We were on the Appalachian Trail to Charlies Bunion. The bear showed up after we hiked for 1 mile. It saw us and ignored us. We decided to wait for a while and then keep going. But we met it again soon! The bear was walking on the trail.. Anyway, we gave up after we saw it the third time..
Well, the bear is circled in red, believe it or not..

My Florida trip pic series (Orlando, Gainesville & Okefenokee National Widelife Refuge)

(I'm so lazy... I should finish this series of pics weeks ago...)

Lake Eola, Orlando, FL
The lake is located at downtown Orlando, full of swans, white, black and mixed race. =)
I didn't go to famous Disneyland as I still didn't go to the one in LA..
The thing I remembered clearest is the hotel I stayed, it was the most comfortable night I had along my trip..
Aug 15, 2009

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Dear Huang Xi Gua, my high school friend, let me stayed at her place for one night (tears~ T-T) and lead me to visit her school next day.
University of Florida is quite pretty in the sense it got a lot of trees (probably only suits my appetite..).
This is a small wooden church, with very unique design. Xixi said that it's only for wedding.. -_-
Aug 15, 2009

Okefenokee National Widelife Refuge, GA
This is in Georgia, not Florida. I finally begin to post pics outside of Florida.. lol
This is supposed to be a good place watching widelife, but I saw nothing... The summer is too hot for creatures! =.=
Aug 16, 2009

A pic to identify mainland Chinese

有消息人士称，它用于在海外旅行的华人之间相互辨别身份。凡是看到这张图片先是哈哈大笑，然后黯然落泪的，可以判断为大陆同胞。
Someone says that this pic is used among Chinese abroad to identify themselves. Whoever laugh then become sad after see this pic, can be identified as from China mainland.

How Internet Works

Original Version from Windows 7 Wallpaper
Chinese Version
The 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th pics are saying: "Dirty Information! Will be filtered! -- by Green Dam software".
The 8th pic is saying: "Your IP address has been recorded, you are wanted now".

I need to stop swimming for a while

Otherwise I'm going to have a reverse panda face, haha

Btw, why most swimming pools here are outdoor while they say too much sunshine cause skin cancer??

I'm brewing my love for

Avocado, Broccoli, Jie Lan, and Green soy bean
3/4 nights per week..

I am selfish indeed

I don't want to hurt you, because I don't want you to hurt me. Even you can't hurt me directly, probably the next one I encounter will hurt me since he was hurt by someone else last time.

I don't want to lie to you, because I expect you being honest to me as well.
I wish a lot of conflicts can be solved by rational thinking with honest communication.
Yes, human have animal natures, but I wish they can be controlled.

I realize that I am assuming that everyone assumes the same as me, that everyone is equal, i.e., fairness.
I don't know if this will work, even in the future beyond my lifetime.

I am not noble at all,
I just want a simpler, and easier world FOR ME.
And the most important thing is that:
I have been the minority, and I am still in some aspects.
That's why I want fairness.

(I don't know what I am going to be like if I am the mightiest in every aspect.)

Bird in a cage

I am a bird born in a cage.
The cage is my home, it's cosy, safe, protecting me from the unknown monsters outside.
I have a master loving me, protecting me, and feeding me.
The only thing I need to do for him is just singing.

Life is good, I always think it is.

One day, another bird came into the cage.
She looked unhappy, she wanted to get out.
I asked her, what are you doing? why not stay here? it's the best place in this world.
She looked at me, and said, how do you know it's the best place?
hmm.. because I got food I want, I got a secure cage protecting me from danger outside, and the most important, I got a master loving me and did a lot of things for me. I love him so much, I can never pay his love back.
As I was talking, I could see pity from her eyes, it was strange, why is she pitying me?
There is much much more delicious food outside, and it's not always dangerous outside. You see the berry your master is eating everyday? that's called blueberry, have you ever tried?
No.. I thought It's not edible for me.
Of course it is! Human just keep the best for themselves. They tell you what the best is and you believe it. They tell you they did all the things for you and make you feel owing them.

----------------

I am a bird living in the wild.
The wild is tough, dangerous, but full of discoveries.
No one protect me, no one feed me, no one guide me, I depend wholly on myself.

I get tired sometime, it even take me 8 hours to find something to eat.

One day when I was taking a snap, someone caught me.
Look, she got such beautiful feathers! she's must worth $200!
Oh, filthy humans..
I was sold more than $200, in fact, $400, double the price.
I was put into a cage, where another bird lives.
She looked happy.
I want to get out, I hate prison.
what are you doing? why not stay here? it's the best place in this world.
She looked at me curiously.
Oh, Such a naive bird...
how do you know it's the best place?
hmm.. because I got food I want, I got a secure cage protecting me from danger outside, and the most important, I got a master loving me and did a lot of things for me. I love him so much, I can never pay his love back.
Poor bird, she may probably has been lied to by human for her entire life, she may probably never go out, did she ever fly into the sky? does she know the feeling? oh, the wonderful feeling...
There is much much more delicious food outside, and it's not always dangerous outside. You see the berry your master is eating everyday? that's called blueberry, have you ever tried?
No.. I thought It's not edible for me.
Of course it is! Human just keep the best for themselves. They tell you what the best is and you believe it. They tell you they did all the things for you and make you feel owing them.
......
I don't believe you, why should I believe you? Even they are true, you shouldn't tell me, I was happy, but now I only feel angry and I can do nothing!
......
Maybe she is right, I shouldn't tell her, myself 2 years ago.

Pain and loneliness

This book says pain and loneliness are associated with the same piece of our brain. So I was wondering, if I can cut that piece off, then am I going to be fearless? My friend laughed at me after he heard it, "pig head, if you cannot feel pain, you even don't know how your arm get cut off". Yeah, I was stupid.. and this book also mentioned that this loneliness gene is developed as an alert to us, since being alone is more dangerous than within a group. Especially for children, they are more vulnerable, so they will feel more pain than adults when left alone. I guess this applies to the weaker people as well, no offence, but it seems that weaker people are more sensitive about loneliness.

3rd times being asked "are you Japanese?"

I went to Burton Chase Park this noon for a nice walk and reading.
I was moving my waist to get some exercise while reading, obviously this action attracted someone.

He walked to me, and asked: "are you Japanese?"
"No, I'm Chinese." I smiled.
"Oh, you are very beautiful."
"Thanks."

Since I didn't wear my glasses, I cannot know what his face was like when he heard I'm Chinese. He didn't say anything more, just walked away. And I moved my eyes back to my book.

This is the 3rd time or probably 4th time I've been asked "are you Japanese" since I got back to LA on late August. Whenever this happens, it reminds me how I reacted the first time when some CHINESE mistaking me as Japanese.

Back to my first year in USC, that was on a night of Visions and Voices event. After my friend introduced me to a group of Chinese students, a girl said to me: "Oh, I thought you are Japanese or Korean since you are wearing like this". I could feel the dislike/despise from her voice and her eyes, and I felt humiliated. At that time I even don't know where this humiliation is from. Is it because she thinks I am the "inferior" Japanese/Korean, and I think I should get affirmation of the "superior" Chinese? Perhaps so, but isn't this ridiculous? Are Chinese really superior?

Today this WHITE man did the same thing, but I don't feel humiliated anymore. I smiled, thanked his nice words. I wasn't wearing some clothes very Japanese, just regular T-shirt and shorts, but he still asked me "are you Japanese". I cannot see his face clearly, I didn't talk to him much, I cannot figure out what he was thinking. Perhaps he watched too much TV depicting how Chinese looks like, perhaps he has never been to China, perhaps he got all the impression of China from the 1960s, perhaps he thought that Japanese are more urbanized than Chinese, perhaps he thought mistaking a Chinese with Japanese is fine but the opposite is not, perhaps he is just trying to not humiliate me even he made a mistake. These are all just guess, but who cares that much.

Why is our confidence so low? why are we so defensive when we are mistaken as the "inferior" we defined. Are they really the inferior? Are you hiding from the fact that you are indeed the inferior?

Redwoods Parks

The first impression of Redwoods Parks to me is that:
"wow, this looks just like the forest I saw in Lord of the Rings."

I don't know why I like trees and water so much (green&blue are also my favourite colors), probably because I've been conditioned in Sichuan for 14 years? -_-|| Redwoods to me, is a perfect combination of these two things. Trees are tall and green, air is cool and humid. I know my body gains a huge amount of pleasure by just standing inside of it.

It's also a new experience. It's a totally different world from the highly civilized Los Angeles, especially when you hike deeply into the forest.

The forest is mysterious, full of uncertain, and uncertain makes me exciting but also scared. Probably people enjoy the pleasure of certaintifying uncertain things, making unknown things known.

I admit that I get scared when walking alone into it for a while. Even it's just a short hiking trial, I was thinking, will I encounter a bear? or even a lion? will I get lost? will I be able get out of it before the sunset? At some point, it's getting really dark, and I heard voice from the bush, I was scared, bear? lion? Finally, I found an elk staring at me, lucky, not bear again.. (I encountered a black bear at Great Smoky Mountain NP for 3 times)

I realize how small, how powerless I can be when I am facing the nature alone.
I feel my fear, I feel the deep nature of myself.

Why do people need company?

Fear?
Fear of what?
If not fear, then what?
Can they conquer it?
Can I conquer it?

What's the looniest creature in this world? turtle?
I wish I could talk to them see how they think..

Trinidad, CA, a place where I feel like I can retire there..

It is breathtaking...
Just like my imagination of Peng Lai Xian Dao (think it as Chinese heaven, although I've never been there lol)...

Now it is my favourite beach, compared to the one in St. Petersburg.

I thought I wouldn't buy any house cause I don't want to get stuck at one place. However, Trinidad made me reconsider my decision. Probably when I get really old and cannot move anymore, I'll live there, and paint the extraordinary view everyday. ;)

Btw, this pic is from Wikipedia, my camera stopped working. =(
Trinidad is much more beautiful than the pic.