Since there has been a lack of interesting images on my page in recent days, I shall point you to Frank's new pic page. If you don't blink, you may see me.

Over the Great Salt Lakes of Utah. The product of inspirations...

I am "home" now. I caught myself telling my neighbor on the airplane that "I was glad to be home." I'm not sure what that means anymore. But anyways, I did have some nice highlights during my trip including drinking daily bubble teas in Berkeley, discovering a beautiful Rose Garden and park overlooking the bay, and eating Korean BBQ. And most importantly hanging with some great friends: Jesse, Rochelle, Kasumi, Bill, Kim, Grace... I also went to to this Taiwanese American young professionals meeting / BBQ out in San Ramon and met some nice people that I'll probably cross paths with again I'm sure...

Well, I'm officially homeless now. I'm gonna move out of my place soon, and I have nothing set for housing in California yet. So, in 9 days, when I'm living out of my backpack in Europe with Dave and Phil, I'll not only know what it feels like to be in major debt and homeless, but I'll also know what it's like to hang with 2 bums. Just kidding guys... OK, well, I'm leaving for Chicago this morning.

One more day left to search, then back to Chicago. I need to blog about more interesting things...

OK, this housing thing is becoming more stressful than med school... I don't know what to do!!

I had a great afternoon hanging with Kasumi and Bill. It was so nice of them to treat me to a late lunch as well as a fantastic sushi dinner in Pacifica. I am now ready to pass out... So, I'm getting close to figuring out a plan with this housing thing. It could potentially be very exciting... If it works out, I may have some nice pics to show... The drama and uncertainty are killing me. Stay tuned.

Now I need some serious luck...

As poor as I am, the search continues. I need some serious connections...

The search for housing has made me realize that I am poor. Very poor.

Alex picked me up at the airport yesterday, and we ended up driving around East Bay for awhile to scope out the area. Afterwards, we met up with his girlfriend, Jessy, and her brother and visiting friends and went to a great Italian place near Russian Hill. I did a little too much wine sampling... Needless to say, I slept very well. Anyways, my official search for housing in the bay area starts today... Where do I start? Hmmm...

San Francisco-bound today.

It all started with an innocent pic of Margaret napping... But if you steal my camera out of my bag and use it against me (5 times), then everyone pays the price... I will snap you while you sleep. Remember and learn.


The rest of the NYC trip pics are here.

Chicago-bound today.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Big walking day for me... I'm in pain now... So, I took the subway downtown to try to find the Guggenheim Soho Museum, and when I came up to the surface, I started walking south. Or so I thought. About 20 blocks later, I discovered I was walking north and backtracking towards midtown Manhattan. What a bummer. Anyways, I gave up on the Guggenheim plan and ended up jumping on another train down to Chinatown to take some pictures around historic Mott Street. After my little self-guided Asian American history tour, I found a nice little bakery and enjoyed some coffee and Chinese pastries before working my way towards Little Italy and Greenwich Village. While I was in Greenwich, I ended up spending about half an hour standing in front of a tribute to the victims of 9/11 consisting of hand-painted ceramic tiles by children. I think I was so drawn to this pseudo-memorial because it was one of the few remaining tributes that still occupied a public space. And also because the messages of hope and American pride came from the voices of children. Very touching indeed. By the afternoon, I had made my way up through Times Square and into the Museum of Modern Art where I spent the next 2 hours taking in more post-9/11-inspired photography work. My day ended with a nice coffee break in the garden park of the New York Public Library, a pitstop at Barnard, a partial viewing of the movie Yi Yi, and finally dinner with Margaret and Dave. It is now time to let those leg muscles and bones regenerate... Oh, the pain... Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

Where Little Italy meets Chinatown. Corner of Mott St & Pell St.

32 Mott, original historic storefront. Looking down Mott St from Canal St.

Spiderman in Chinatown! Cool! Walking towards Greenwich.

Admiring the 9/11 tribute. Pizza and pop break in Greenwich Village.

Times Square. Radio City.

Outside MoMA.

Reflections off a shiny building along 5th Ave.

Coffee break outside the New York Public Library. Margaret at Barnard.

I think I shall wander the rain-soaked streets of Manhattan today.

It's such a nice feeling to be sitting somewhere else in the world this morning. I'm looking out Frank's window and enjoying the world pass by at the corner of Grand Ave and Van Horn St out in Elmhurst, NY. And shortly, we are off to Flushing, NY to meet up with Marge and Dave for some awesome Taiwanese food... Good friends, good food... What more can anyone ask for?


Bubble Tea during lunch in Flushing from my point of view...

A view from the spy cam: "M" briefing agents 007 and 008.

Sorry Frank... can't talk to you right now... gotta catch up reading your blog page...

5:00 pm: Finishing up at APAMSA health fair on Argyle St.
5:30 pm: Enjoying spring rolls / iced coffee at a Vietnamese restaurant with APAMSA peeps.
6:15 pm: Cruising down Lake Shore Drive.
8:00 pm: Savoring a McDonald's vanilla ice cream cone at O'hare airport.
11:00 pm: Eating noodle soup at some Taiwanese joint in New York.
12:00 am: Playing "007 Agent Under Fire" at Frank's place.

My room is a mess! Clothes, furniture, electronics, and "stuff" everywhere. What am I to take to California? What should I take home to store away? What should I donate? How do I move it all? Where am I moving to? Ai-yo. Sim-po-fy. Must sim-po-fy la. Ai-yo-weh. Well, I'm off to the APAMSA health fair soon. I actually scheduled my trip to New York around this event. Such commitment, eh? Stay tuned for the next blog from New York.

Warren diagnoses a 7th Cranial Nerve Palsy...

The M4's

The APAMSA volunteers.

By some stroke of luck... I have been reunited with Esther in LA and her new blog page!

Thanks to Janet, I had a real lunch today with real bread and real meat! Oh yeah! This is instead of my more recent meals consisting of whatever dried or canned food items sitting in the deepest reaches of my pantry or cabinets. It's amazing what kind of interesting soups one can create with, say, a few grains of rice, some old canned veggies, peanuts, jerky, soy sauce, Marshmallow Peeps... I'm just kidding about the Peeps. Anyways, I've learned a few other things: Two or more eggs added to ramen to make it a pseudo-substantial meal. Ice cream makes a great breakfast. Ice cream makes a great lunch. Ice cream can substitute for dinner on occasions. Lemonade concentrate can be stretched to about 6 or 8 liters with a few tea bags and lots of sugar. If someone offers you mangoes, take 'em - good source of fiber. Marshmallow Peeps can suppress the hunger pains... Given my desire for real food, I am looking forward to going to New York tomorrow after the APAMSA health fair. I anticipate some excellent Taiwanese food in Flushing along with some excellent company!

Hanging with NaYoung & Charlie. M4 agenda for today: Beach - Lunch - Beach.

Alrighty... Off to U of I for the evening. A bunch of us "old skool activists" are going to surprise Yuki as she retires from her role as Assistant Dean of Students after all these years of service.

Congrats to Michelle, Tim, and ITASA/TASC for an awesome conference!

Yuki and AAA leaders of today and of the decade past (but can you tell?).
Congrats for becoming the Outstanding Student Organization once again!

All our activism and work during the 90's paid off...
We now can stand next to our very own Asian American Studies Center!

Oliver, Vida, Jeremy, me, & NaYoung.
So old skool, it's rather sad. Cheers!
The rest of the pics are here.

A True Story About Reclaiming Life

As I ventured out of UIC village, I bumped into a man known as Little Charlie. Everyone knows a Charlie - the kind of fellow you run into everywhere, the "everyman" that transcends space and time. Well on this day, he learned that I suffered from this incurable disease called "Senioritis Extremium of the M Degree." In his quest to seek Compassion, he decided to "feel my journey" and learn a lesson in empathy. So the two of us trekked onward to another place, a place known as North Avenue Beach. The blazing sun beat down upon us from the East, and the lake breeze sent chills from the South. "Oh, to suffer!" I proclaimed, "Let this be the end!" And for two hours, we came to understand Pain and to know the eternal life of a grain of sand whipped by a never-ending cycle of crashing waves. But alas, the gods showed no mercy, and struck our inner souls with another pain - A pain known only as Hunger. The Antidote to Hunger would be found in a magical mysterious forgotten-land known as Argyle Street in a hidden temple marked only by the symbols 777. In the blink of an eye, we found ourselves sitting before the Beings That Beared Our Likeness. As we chanted "Pho! Pho! Pho!" two grand bowls filled full of Antidote were presented to us decorated with blossoms of basil, sprouts, and rich red spices. Amazingly and unexpectedly, two Princesses also appeared from the depths of the temple. "Tina!" I exclaimed, for I had encountered this fair Being before. "Yes, it is me, Princess Tina," she replied, "and this is Princess Cori, a teacher and enlightener of souls. We have come to share in Life. All Pain and Hunger will be vanquished today." And thus, as they promised, Pain and Hunger were indeed conquered. Life would be victorious. Life would be reclaimed. And yet another chapter in the story of the gentile known as Ho Chie and his companion Little Charlie is written.

The beach beckons...

I was really impressed by the PanAsia event and the student organizers at the University of Chicago. In addition to a slide show presentation of Corky's works and the exhibit itself, there was a spoken word performance by this Vietnamese American from Minneapolis, Bao. He was very impressive and eloquent. One of the lines from a piece he presented was "Asians: the other white meat." I know it's out of context, but I think it's one best phrases I've heard in awhile. I only write it here to remind myself where I first heard it. You might have to really think about it for awhile to understand it. If you don't get it, don't worry about it. Just let it remain some weird Ho Chie rambling about yet another Asian American socio-political issue. Anyhoots, Joanna & Elvin (sighting #2 in 2 days) were also at the event. Later on, Marlon & Anida (yes, another sighting #2 - is this Ho Chie's own personal Asian American Awareness Month or something??) dropped by because they had worked with Bao before. Some of you out there may know Marlon & Anida as one half of the I Was Born With 2 Tongues group if they toured through your college campus. So, as we were chatting with Corky & Bao, I mentioned that I first learned about Corky through a workshop he gave at one of our APA conferences down at U of I back in the early 90's. Well, it turns out Bao was at the conference that year too. And of course Marlon & Anida were fellow U of I students... My world is shrinking even faster.

1/2 of Elvin, UofC student, Bao, me, Joanna, Anida, Marlon, Corky & his sushi.
That IS a big fortune cookie below us.
And that IS a 2001 TAF Staff t-shirt that I'm sporting.
"You bring out the Taiwanese American in me."

I'm off to Charlie's soon to celebrate Tony's birthday. BBQ. Yummm. Then I'm off to see an opening exhibit at the University of Chicago by the self-proclaimed "undisputed, unofficial Asian American photographer laureate" Corky Lee. I like his photojournalism work.

Guess who I bumped into on my way to lunch? Little Miss Clara! The poor girl was selling Krispy Kremes for a fundraiser... Since I was on my way to meet Liz for lunch by the lake, I bought a box to share for dessert. What a nice day it was outside! A little on the warm side, but too beautiful. Will it possibly be a beach day for me tomorrow?? Hmmm.

Check out this panoramic picture of Liz, Liz, Me, Myself, and I by the lakefront.

I missed Margaret this past week. Her blog page was "relocated" for awhile to misdirect the evil forces that lurk within the hidden web of the internet. You just never know how to interpret the intentions of people out there in the virtual world. Well, I'm glad she's back. And now she's using her powers for good, not evil... unlike me... I've taken control of her peeps page to honor my favorite peeps. HAR HAR HAR [in evil tone].

Yes, the city is very small... As soon as we parked the car in Chinatown, we randomly passed Cathy N. as she was getting out of her car (sighting #2 in 2 days). Then as we walked into Chinatown Square, I bumped into my former lab members, Dongsheng and Dongning. And finally at the performance, we met up with Vida, Ken, Oliver, & Nayoung to watch Marlon, Anida, & Gordon contribute to a creative show centering around the theme of an "Asian American response to 9-11." In the row behind me was Tuyet with her friends. In the front was Guia with her family and friends. By my count that's 14 of my friends in a time span of 2 hrs... Ai-yo. No Northwestern people in sight though...

Let's see, Elvin & Joanna are treating me to dinner in Chinatown this evening. That's so nice of them. I respect them both so much for their commitment to the Asian American community and all the work they've done over the years. I'm definitely lucky to be able to call them friends. After dinner, we're headed off to the Asian American Artists Collective performance. I'm looking forward to that. I wonder who else we'll bump into there... This city is starting to feel very small.

Beautiful day today. What to do...

Mengting sighting #3 at the film festival. Those Northwestern people seem to be EVERYWHERE. Who knows, she's probably saying the same thing about me. I only met her about a week ago, and for the longest time I couldn't figure out why she seemed so familiar or why her name rung a bell. I thought that it was most likely from crossing paths with her at the Northwestern ITASA 2000 conference. But that didn't explain why she looked so familiar. And then, I discovered why... She went to TAF for one year back in 1998, and even though I don't think I ever met her that week, I must have gone through that TAF yearbook so many times that her image became so ingrained in my memory. She probably won't appreciate this, but here's a picture of Mengting's small group from that old TAF 98 directory. She's changed a little bit since then but undoubtedly remains quite familiar... That's what you get when you go to TAF. Even for one year. Well, I'm grateful that I actually had the chance to chat with her a little bit over the past week. Oftentimes, the more you find out about a person, the more you'd like to know. She's definitely one of those types of people - very interesting. I hope I cross paths with her again in the future. Anyways, it's likely that she'll come across this blog sometime soon, so I'll just take a moment to say to her: It was a pleasure to finally meet you. Again. And again. And again.

Bubble Tea craving has been satisfied. I think Taro flavored Bubble Tea is the BEST! No one seems to agree though... Anyways, I met up with Steph, Yin, and Brian for dim sum today.

I'm volunteering at an APAMSA health fair this morning in Chinatown. Must... have... bubble... tea...

What a week! Doreen sighting #3 at the film fest. I recall she once waved me down from the backseat of a passing car while I was walking downtown along Michigan Avenue amongst a crowd of strangers. Apparently, this has happened to other friends of mine as well. Doreen. So random.

Heading downtown for the Asian American film festival... it's gonna be a marathon evening for me... I plan to stay 6 hours for as many films as I can... I should have made my own "sponsor me with a pledge" thing... 1 penny for every minute that I'm there... oh wait, that only adds up to $3.60... never mind.

And how can I forget my buddy Harmony? She was almost 5 years old in this pic. This is me and her being silly 11 years later...

I went back to the 'burbs yesterday and hung out with Linn & Carrie for a little bit. Bubble Tea at DiHo was Linn's idea this time... I think it's so amazing that I've known both of them since they were 6 or 7 years old. We've definitely grown up together over the years...

If you stare long enough, the meaning will come to you. I think. At least that's what Heidy told Jay, and that's what he told me. It's been 11 days now...

At an APAMSA workshop today, I wanted to take a picture with Aimee and Jenny. Their response? "Oh, you just want to take a picture with us because we're girls..." Hmmm. I had to think about that for a second. Well, yeah, they're absolutely right. And they're cute and cool. And I've never taken a picture with them before. And I'm leaving UIC and Chicago soon. And I want a picture with them. So there.

It's a beautiful day today. I just had Polish sausages from Maxwell St for the very first time today - Chicago thing. Very yummy. Lots of sketchy people hanging out in a sketchy area though. Do not sell me socks. I do not need socks. Anyways, I'm going out to play. Taxes and errands can wait. Just for the record, it's Day #3 of the allotted 5 for Crush #27.

I'm still smiling about that "On Ho Chie" blog by Wil. I want to frame it up on my wall - I'm that flattered. But, if only my life or my presence were really that exciting. I assure you, it is not. Take for example my webpage. It really is just a facade, a place where life is grander than reality... You only see a glimmer of truth, of things I want to show you. And in the end, it's all a matter of perception. Accurate or not. But, hey, I'm still smiling. Blog on.

Did you hear? TAF is moving to the west coast... Frank is contemplating a move to Seattle. That makes, count them, SEVEN ex-JR counselors/directors on the west coast (Jeff, Cindy, Jackie, Celia, Tina, Frank & me) plus ex-Youth Program directors, Spencer & Vince. There must be more...

It was Taiwanese American reunion #2 at Northwestern... It turns out Doreen was the organizer for this event. I met up with Rick, and we saw Lester, Zeyen, Wayne, and Mengting again... Bumped into a couple of my other friends that I haven't seen awhile, Janice and Gerry. And I got to sit next to Stacy, Cathy's sister! Man, those Kim sisters are both really hip. Sorry to Liza and Charlie who came all the way up, but couldn't get in cuz it was so packed...

Doreen (lower right) with NW TASC and the stars of Better Luck Tomorrow.

This one is for Cat & Mike - Stacy getting the autographs...

That Asian American film I mentioned previously, Better Luck Tomorrow, tops Phil's blockbuster list, so it must be good. I missed it at the opening of the Asian American film festival here in Chicago since I was at ITASA, but luckily, Northwestern University's TASC is hosting a reception for the director, Justin Lin, who happens to be Taiwanese American. And the film is being screened for free afterwards. Nice. I'm off to Evanston.

The rest of the ITASA photos are now uploaded here. Have a nice day!

OH MY GOD! This is SOOO funny! A blog about me (I think). You have to read this blog by Wil, one of Frank's buddies. You've made my day, man. HA! I need a pin to pop my inflated ego right now. I'm laughing so hard, tears are starting to come to my eye... Here's a clip from today's blog:

She talked about how she went out with a couple friends, and met this guy. I was like, "what guy?" She said, "Well, his name is Ho Chie." That's certainly not a common name. I said, "You mean, Ho Chie, as in Ho Chie Ho Chie? I don't really know him, but I know OF him." "REALLY?", she said.

I am finally home! ITASA 2002 is over, and what a fun weekend it was! I'm starting to remember again why I love working with the Taiwanese American and Asian American communities... My workshops on Asian American history went very well (I didn't see anyone fall asleep), and I think I managed to open the eyes of many in the "next generation." Gotta love that feeling of being able to make a difference. One of the other speakers for the conference was Alberta Lee, daughter of Dr. Wen Ho Lee. How interesting that I had heard him speak while I was in LA in January, and now I'm able to meet Alberta! She was really cool and so easygoing, and her message to the participants really spoke to them. I think it made an impact on many who were there. Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with her again when I head out to SF at the end of April...

The 2nd Generation speakers.


So I thought the conference was really well organized and very creative. Go Tim and Michelle! Your crew was awesome! I haven't been this impressed with a conference for a long time. The Night Market thing was just so cool with all the booths, games, food, music, and crowds underneath this huge tent in the Engineering quad. Sherry and I won some t-shirts, pop, and candy by playing Pachinko! They also had these "glamour shots" sessions - which I would never do, but of course it's just so completely Taiwanese...

A quick TAFer group pic. Looking so glamourous!

With a little coaching by HoCh, you too can be glamourous!


It seemed that between events or after the day's activities, we all managed to see each other at Evo, the bubble tea joint on campus... what else is new right? How can a college student study with bubble tea around the corner? I don't understand...


A dark chocolate puppy truffle from Moonstruck goes well with my bubble tea.


It was really neat meeting some of the ITASA National Board members. Although we didn't spend alot of time together, they were a fun bunch to hang around with and talk to (and drink with - that last shot really hurt). It really is clear to me that they are committed to bringing a sense of unity to the Taiwanese American collegiate community. I've seen many conferences where "invisible" national representatives claim more credit than they deserve, but I think this group was a good example of how giving recognition where credit is due (go U of I TASC!) goes a long way towards furthering the cause. OK, enough commentary.

A pic with some of the ITASA National Board.

To see all my fellow TAFers again was just so great, considering it may be my last time for who knows how long. Hanging out with them always feels like "home." And I love them all. Even the TAFers that I may not have hung out with much before. As we've gotten older together, the friendships just continue to blossom. I'm happy.

"Supafine!"

Most of the TAFers after Formosa Night. So fun!

TAFers having lunch at Asiana. Free miso soup!

Rosanna, girl with the magic slippers. Davef & Harms - fantastic gadgets.