Patience is Virtue

"Patience is virtue."

This is what my friend told me the other day when I was expressing my confusions and concerns about my life. I am pretty sure that I have heard about it many times from other methods: people, TVshows, stories, etc. It is one of those things that I hear and believe it is obvious. It is also one of those phrases that rarely has came up when I actually needed a reminder.

"Think about it: you pretty much need to be patient for your whole life. You want to become whatever you want to be, but it doesn't come over night. You have to be patient and work for years and years to establish that goal."

I am not sure whether it is the way that she phrased her explanations, but I felt so enlightened after all of these words even through it's something anyone can come up with themselves.

Sichuan Jin River in Rockville, Maryland

Sichuan Jin River is a place we came up when we were desperately looking for places to eat. We knew we were located around the DC area, we knew we can't have too high to an expectation for authentic Asian food. And just like any Chinese restaurant, this place just makes me want to get out with its 99 cent store style ceilings and hipster yellow walls. 

Obviously the owner of this restaurant did not spent too much time on the interior decoration for this restaurant. I think he/she was hoping the food will make us go back. We went for which ever dish that stroke our fancy, especially the weird ones that we do not make on a daily basis.

Chili Bean Jelly Salad

Seafood with Tofu and Vegetable soup

Stir Fried Water Spinach

A bucket of rice! Cutest buck of rice I have ever seen.

Sichuan Style Pig Intestine

Sichuan Style Flounder

I really enjoyed my time with those dishes, especially the stir-fried water spinach -- tender and crispy, can only be done with industrial powered stoves. The food in this place is Americanized, but those slightly altered tastes were enjoyable.

Innate Disgust

I was flipping through science magazine the other day. My mind was not fixated on one particular thing, eyes were just glancing over pictures and diagrams to see what can grab my interest. I encountered a picture of the Chinese primier, Li Keqiang, talking with visiting intellectuals inside one of those governmentally built conference rooms. I stared at the picture of the famous Science editor-in-chief sitting on the typical red arm chair, facing Li. My anger began to rise.

I wasn't sure whether it was my innate disgust towards the Chinese government, or my dislike towards Chinese art and decorations -- I felt uncomfortable. I didn't like the say he was sitting, it reminds me of those Chinese politicians who slowly lost their sense of humanity once they gained power. I didn't like the fact that there was always women in the background of every picture of Chinese politicians, it reminds me of the polygamy that the Chinese society used to practice. I didn't like the fact that the room was overly glorified with colors of gold and red, they symbolize the conceited and narcissistic mind of people who treat themselves as emperors.

I was absolutely disgusted.

Storm Coming Ahead

Have you ever seen the storm coming, and were forced to cut some good times short? This past Saturday I was at a rooftop with friends in Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. As we were leisurely chilling in the pool, binging on barbecued ribs and chicken, those clouds you see below quietly swept over our heads. Before we could notice, winds were blowing at 50 miles per hour, plastic plates and party cups were jumping off the building, and barbecued smoked were smoking us. I took this photo for the city scene as we ran into our own safe caves.



Bright car lights dominate the city streets with the sun just about to shine on the other side of the planet. For some reason, I find it especially calming about those clouds. They seem like the climax in a movie, that would only lead to the greater goods afterwards. They put down a mark that leads to a happier ending, because only better things comes after the worst.

Confusion

For many times I have been confused from all aspects of my life: what to do at work, what to do with my interpersonal relationships, what to do with my family, what to do with life. I tried to think, of a good way that would yield the best outcome. But then the more I think, the more I became hesitant of what to do. The more I think, the more I become confused. In the end, I started to procrastinate. I hold off the things that are most important to me last, fearing to face the success or failure that results from my actions. In the mean time of procrastination, I cannot help but worrying things that has not yet been taken care of, closures I have not yet received, minds not yet settled. This is an on-going cycle that is going on in my life. And everytime I have gotten through these obstacles, I believe that I will handle these situations a better way. In fact, I have not improved. I still face problems with over interpretations, overwhelming worries and un-necessary focuses.

I understand the world is not black and white, and there are no right and wrong. But wouldn't things just be much easier if one can find a way to draw the clear boundaries of everything?

Sitting Down

How many times, out of our busy lives, do we actually sit down and think about something. We pause for a second, avoid all the busyness of street crowds, ignore those additional work tasks our supervisors just dump us, and pretend that we are just by ourselves. This happen more often to me during lunch time on a Wednesday, or morning breakfast time on a Sunday. Just a cup of milk or tea, a mellow story book, and a semi-comfortable armchair. Let the sunlight go through the windows you are sitting next to, let nature tell you their definition of the truth. What is life about? What is happiness about? Sadness, confusion, and anger? Are they worth it? What can our actions say about ourselves? What do we really want to do with our limited youth? What more is out there in space? These are the questions that often pop up within our minds, but rarely do we actually hold on to this over-board question and attempt to find out our answers.

It is hard to have time for ourselves, especially in the twenty-first century, under the over-exploration of media connections. Since when does it sound uncool to have minimal contact over the virtual world of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Since when is it strange to not know what hashtags are now more than a number sign? Since when has people started staring on their phones constantly? Since when has people started to ignore another human being sitting right next to them?

No matter how difficult it might seem, I cannot deny the fact that social media is currently as large and powerful as it can ever be. It's like realizing that America is no longer the superpower. Harsh truth like these are things we are constantly fighting to accept on a daily basis.

Cold Tofu

Ingredients needed:

- Silken Tofu

- Scallions/Green Onions

- Hot pepper oil or Sesame Oil

- Soy Sauce

- Garlic

Take silken tofu out of the box, cut into thin pieces, transfer onto a dish. Chop up garlic and scallions into small pieces. In a separate skillet, heat up soy sauce and hot pepper oil (replaceable with sesame oil), add garlic and scallions, toss for 1 minute under medium heat. Pour sauce over silken tofu.

You can add red pepper flakes on it too if you are really into spicy food.