Category Archives: travel

Somewhere in time before iPhones

Before the iPhone, the video quality was not high definition. Before the iPhone, I wore a watch regularly. Sure, I always took it off whenever I practised the piano. Here is a video taken before I got my smartphone. It … Continue reading

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Classical guitar: intimate, personal, and vulnerable

There is something intimate, personal, and vulnerable about sharing a space with a musician — unplugged. Such is the case of experiencing the classical guitar, which is a rare thing on Maui. Once a year Ben Verdery draws students and … Continue reading

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Mandarin course on Maui 顧恩以教中文

I have been telling the same story for years. Chinese is much easier than English. Or rather, Chinese grammar is much easier than English. Or better, Chinese grammar is nearly non-existent.

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The two Cs

My dad warned me about the two Cs when I was leaving home for college. “Beware of chemistry,” he said.

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The making of a fan

As a musician, I was not aware of how to turn my audience into my fans until I became a fan myself. As a fan, I want to support the musician or musicians I’m a fan of. I want to … Continue reading

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Dad’s iPad

On my brother’s last visit, he bought a new iPad for my father.  It sat unused until I showed up six months later in Taichung. Some ten years earlier, I had done the opposite. I first diagnosed that my father … Continue reading

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The day the earth stood still

There are moments in your life that you will never forget. Ask anyone what they were doing on September 11, 2001. Wherever they were, they remember. It is as if time froze the minute they learned about what has now … Continue reading

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Family reunion of four

I came across an old e-mail from my dad in October 2003, referring to a series of blogs I posted about our family reunion the previous month. “Your updated Sept journals,” he wrote, “describe our reunion after 17 yrs quite vividly. Though … Continue reading

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Ninth day of the ninth month 九月九日

On my last trip to Taiwan, three weeks in sweltering July and August, I faced a noticeable disadvantage of not being able to type in Chinese. I couldn’t google my father’s name to see the books he had written nor … Continue reading

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Supermoon and superdad

As we approach the third supermoon this year, I am reminded of how I witnessed the two previous ones in July and August.

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