After a month working

Time is flying; time is a thief, Emily added. In the last month, a lot of things have changed. I became a full time city employee, moved to Astoria, went to a church the very first time in my life, waited several hours for a photo shoot, attended SBS agency picnic, and got depressed a lot as well.

Fortunately, my two friends - Yen and Angela - are always be with me during my depression period. Perhaps they didn't discover my depression till I told them yesterday. Apparently I seem to be a normal me, but I can't be happy from inside; I feel so lost...

Emily recommended me to go to a church for experience long time ago, but because I am a atheist, I didn't feel want to go. Since I didn't want to go home right after work, I went to a church with the two friends last week. The church is different from what I usually see on TV or movies. Yen told me it is because before it became a church, it was a theater. As I observed the service and the songs they were singing, I came up a conclusion: they are really passion for in what they believe. It is also quite amazing that the songs with simple lyrics, and even just repeating, can bring all the believers' heart together. The power of religion is really strong no matter which one. However, I only believe in myself.

Today's Menu...

I invited Yen and Angela to join me for dinner because Angela was going back to Taiwan after graduation, and each of them brought a guest. It was 14 months ago when we had a meal together last time, and coincidentally the restaurant was located at the same place called "Troy's home". Everything you saw on the above picture was gone in 30 minutes. I couldn't help doubting whether they were really hungry or my cooking was good. Afterwards, we had fruit, cheese cake, ice cream, and a special order from Yen - Latte. The dinner was good and I am glad that they all enjoyed. However, there is one thing I must tell them: my dear friends, I think you forget to leave a tip on the table when you leave.

This was my second menu in a week. I don't know the reason of inviting this friend to have a meal. Sometimes your feeling drives your action, and that happened to me. While I was cooking, I was thinking maybe it's too much for two of us. And the result confirmed my suspicion. It's too much. The leftovers were even enough for two lunchboxes. And this was just the beginning of the amazing week...

Thanks for coming...

May 23rd of 2007 was the day of my commencement. Seven of you came to Radio City Music Hall to cheer me up and to be the witnesses of an important accomplishment in my life. It has been three years since I came here. During the period of time, I set up my goals and worked very hard to achieve them. However, only hard working is not enough. The finical support, which allowed me to study without worrying about the student loan, from my family was the other factor in my success of obtaining the M.S. degree. I am proud that I have reached an significant milestone in my life.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to those who attended my graduation: Kenneth, Allen, Yen, Angela, Colleen, Carolyn and the other Angela, and those who were unable to come: Heather, Don, Wakko, Mom, and Dad.

New York Yankees - Chien-Ming Wang

On May 21st, 2007, eight of us went to Yankees Stadium to cheer up Wang. Whenever Wang is in the lineup of a game, you always can see a lot of Taiwanese get into the stadium. Because of him, George Steinbrenner, the owner of NY Yankees, has taken a lot of money from Taiwanese fans' pockets, including myself.

A friend of mine took me to the Yankees game free of charge, indeed, it's Wang's game, of course. I want to thanks the person because I had a good time with the person despite Wang's loss.

I was interviewed

Every year the third Sunday of May, Taiwanese Week Festival, as known as Passport to Taiwan, takes place in Union Square. In this foreign country, it was very cheerful to see all the Taiwanese stuff gathering together. In the festive, you can see the beauty of Taiwan, experience the culture of Taiwan, enjoy the food of Taiwan, and feel the passion of Taiwanese people.
Since there would be a lot of Taiwanese attending the event, I was there to promote an organization, Association of Taiwanese Alumni in Greater New York (ATANY), that I've joined recently with some of the board members.
Unexpectedly, I was interviewed by a Taiwanese TV program host. I was a little bit nervous because it was my first experience, and the crowd made me felt even more nervous. At that moment, I felt I was a star. LOL~ It's a plus on the side that I didn't want. If you see me on TV, don't suspect what your eyes see because that's me with no doubt.

The end of internship

May 14th of 2007 was my last day of internship at NYC Dept. of SBS. Carolyn, left, and Colleen, right, gave me a gift, which is lovely, when my internship ended. Both of them really support me during my internship. I appreciate that they recognize the worth of me in the unit as well as the opportunity they gave me to show what I am capable of. During the 6 months period, I built a system that allows my unit to collect data and generate reports easily, quickly, and correctly. I not only applied what I have learned in school to the project I worked on, but also learned a lot myself while working on the project. It was a great experience, and more excitingly I am working in SBS as a full time employee now. Special thanks to my both supervisors. Without your support, I wouldn't have been here.

Too much going on... ( Part X )

Recently I have watched two musicals - Beauty and the Beast, and Mamma Mia! - and one ballet - Romeo and Juliet. The two musicals are good and I like them. As for the ballet, to be honest, I have to say it was a little bit boring and was not attractive to me.
I like ABBA's songs and Mamma Mia! does very well in terms of conducting the songs. Even nowI sometimes listen to the original soundtrack CD of Mamma Mia! From 8/24 to 9/6, Mamma Mia! will be performing in Taipei. If you like ABBA, I strongly recommend you to go.
I have bad news of Beauty and the Beast: the final bow is 7/29/07. It is a good musical and I wish it can remain longer, so more people can experience the magic on the stage. The characters of Mamma Mia! and Beauty and the Beast are different. While the former is more song-involved, the latter is more stage-involved. I really enjoyed the stage performance of Beauty and the Beast. Sadly, it is going to close out soon.

Too much going on... ( Part IX )

It has been 2 and half years since I came to NYC. As my friend said, there are still full of surprises here. Brooklyn Botanic Garden is one of the examples. If I tell you that I took this picture in Japan, you probably will believe me. I am telling you: no, it's not in Japan; it's in the United States. Last year I went to D.C. to see the Cherry Blossom Festival. This year, I went to Brooklyn Botanic Garden to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms. It is really joyful when the wind blow through the cherry trees and the leaves fall down to your body. At that moment, I couldn't think about anything, but the beauty of the nature.

Radio City Hall is the place where my commencement took place. If my graduation didn't take place there, I don't know when I would go into there. Again, life is full of surprises here. Radio City Hall was not my destination. I just took this picture when I was on my way to Top of The Rock - the top of Rockefeller Center.

I went up to the top of Empire State Building about two years ago. By the time I was there, I had no idea about other buildings around it because I was new to this amazing city. Now I know more about the place I enjoy. Therefore, my feeling was totally different from what I had two years ago; I felt more enjoyable. Also, I think it also depends on who you go with. Therefore, shall we go up to there together?
Actually, I like Top of The Rock more than the top of Empire State Building because I could take a picture of it from The Rock. The other reason is that The Rock doesn't block visitors out by using partitions, so I could enjoy the view freely. On the other hand, it is more dangerous without the protection. By the way, the tickets of them make no difference.

Too much going on... ( Part VIII )

I was back to the U.S two days before my birthday. I was going to keep it as a secret. However, Yen and Angela suddenly remember my birthday after we had a dinner together three days after my birthday. Usually some of my friends either send me birthday gifts or hand out to celebrate my birthday when I was in Taiwan. But it does happen here. Stacey, a friend I met five years ago, always remember my birthday and celebrate it with me since I came. I really appreciate her thoughtfulness. Wakko is the other person who also celebrate with me during these years. Thank you, Wakko. Yen and Angela also thanks for celebrating my birthday this year. Also thanks Reta. You have never forgotten my birthday since we know each other. Year after year, even you are married. It is really good to have someone to be with you when some important days. Next year who will be with me? Let time tell us.

This is the uniform that I wore to work during the winter time. If I don't tell you how many degrees it was, you may think I was crazy to wear that much. The temperature was 0 degree centigrade. Don't be fooled by the sunlight. Work and study are the two things I had to deal with in the last two semester of my school time. It was very tired to go to school after a hard working day. Since I only worked 3 days a week, I could get some rest and time to do my homework. I am considering to go for another Master degree - MBA after maybe one year from now. But I am not sure about it yet. It's just my plan. I always have a question in my mind: Don't you think people spend too much time studying nowadays?

Madison Square Garden is a place I always wanted to go in NYC. Because the ticket of NBA is too expensive and also Knicks haven't had good performances, this plan had been postponed till I went to watch the Jordan Brand Classic event due to the cheaper ticket. My plan has accomplished eventually; it is not a NBA game though.

Too much going on... ( Part VII )

At the end of last year, I went back to Taiwan after one and half years hard studying and working in the U.S. I stopped by Japan for few days and sightseed some famous places in Tokyo. Tokyo Disneyland is one of them. Although the attractions are designed for children, adults also revel in them, including myself. It was a fun day in Tokyo Disneyland. The only disappointment was that Space Mountain was not under maintenance. I heard that it is the most exciting attraction in Tokyo Disneyland. Hope someday I will be able to take a ride on it.

Japanese sweet is one of my favorites because they are not so sweet and taste good. The drawback, however, is they are not cheap. In Chinese idiom we describe it as 一分錢一分貨, meaning the higher the price, the better the quality of the merchandise. A friend of mine told me that you won't feel uncomfortable wearing high-heeled shoes if they are well-designed and made. Usually those kind of shoes are expensive as well. Although I don't have any experience, indeed, I think I will never have anyway, I believe what she told me because they are expensive with reasons.

Tokyo Tower, the famous building of Tokyo, is so beautiful during the dusk. I waited in front of the tower for the best timing to take this photo. By the way, I was not the only person waiting there. I met an old man who had his professional camera set up on a tripod and waited for the dusk coming. It seemed that he has experience of taking photos of the tower because he tried to share his information with me. However, I don't speak Japanese. I just thanked his kindness and took photos around his spot. I am glad it worked out and it was worth waiting.

Rainbow Bridge, a place where I always see in Japanese dramas. It was so happy to see everything by my eyes. The feeling is like when I first time came to NY; everything was so WOW!! Before when I watched movies, I usually didn't care the where the scenes were taken because I don't know where they are anyway. Now when I watch movies, I usually recognize the scenes appearing in the movies, such as Spider-Man I in Columbia University, Devil Wears Prada - NYC, Inside Man - NYC ... etc. There are also a lot of movies made in Hollywood, California. Hope someday I can go there and Wow myself again. ( Don't I have too many places where I want to go? )

Unexpectedly, I was upgraded to Business Class without paying extra money when I was on the way back to Taiwan from Japan. How can I tell you how I felt abou it? See my photo; it tells everything. Wish myself luck next time.

Too much going on... ( Part VI )

Time line moves to the end of the Fall semester. Because I screwed up my first exam in Statistics class, I received my first non-A grade. Besides that, I did pretty good in the classes; especially I worked as well. This was my first experience. Now I understand how hard it is to work and go to school simultaneously, and still maintain good academic standing.

Christmas season is one of the busiest seasons for department stores, meaning a lot of money going out from everyone's pocket, including myself. After a stressful semester, there was nothing better than shopping; especially when everything was on sale. Shopping is happy; paying is NOT. The two small bags cost me more than $300. If you have a full time job, it may not seem to be a big deal to you. However, don't forget I was an intern earning my income counting by hours.

When talking about pressure, I remember a case of my friend. She spent $900 on beauty products when she was stressed out due to the job tasks. She regretted later on. I told her she could have given the money to me instead. Have you have the similar experience?

Too much going on... ( Part V )

Chicago, the city of architecture. There are a lot of various shapes of buildings, such as the corn building which is a parking building, the wave building which is an apartment building. The highest building in the picture is Sears Tower. When I arrived at Chicago, the snow just stopped four hours ago. It was freezing; I mean FREEZING. I thought the winter weather in NY was awful, but comparing to Chicago, it was a piece of cake. When the wind passed through my face, it was more painful than the NY wind. If I have a chance to go Chicago again, I will never go in winter. NEVER.

Michael Jordan, the living legend of basketball. Look at the picture, I don't see any difference between he and I. Hahaha ~ Since he retired, NBA has become less exciting. I remember when I was in college, everyone was talking about he. During the playoff season, some classmates and I even cut the classes when he was playing. Right now, I only watch the fourth quarter; sometimes only the last 5 minutes. I think my interest has shifted to NFL. Go, Patriots ~


This picture was taken at John G. Shedd Aquarium where is close to Chicago Bears stadium. I wish I would have gone to watch the game. The dolphin show was fantastic. The trainers have very good relationship with the dolphins. They danced together, walked together and swam together. Look at them and think about human beings. How long will it take to build such a strong trusty relationship between humans? Human is really a very complicated animal.
Besides the dolphins, there are also sharks, and whales. I was lucky to see the baby whale. The whales we usually see are white. However, the baby whale is black and will turn to white later on. I asked the one of the staff the reason, but I forget it now. If you want to know, Google it. By the way, let me add one item into my dream list: riding on a dolphin.

Yes, the thickness of the pizza is what you see above. The restaurant is called Lou Malnatis'. You have to wait for like 30 minutes after you order pizzas because they are handmade. Chicago No.1. You may want to try it out. Another No. 1 in Chicago: Carson's BBQ Ribs.
When you go to Carson's, you don't need to wait for 30 minutes for the food to be made. But, you have to wait for seats. It may take you 30 minutes as well. Since I was a tourist, I had no choice. I could only wait, but it was worth waiting. The meat between the bones are soft and delicious. Indeed, the price is reasonable. I am dainty about food, so if I recommend something, you know you won't get disappointed.

Too much going on... ( Part IV )

I always want to travel, even now, but I feel sorry to spend my parents' money for entertainment. Since I had my little money that I earned from the Summer internship, I decided to go traveling. It took almost 8 hours by car from NYC to my destination - Niagara Falls. It is hard to describe in words how the nature is. Spectacular, imposing, magnificent...etc. None of them can really express how I felt at that moment. Perhaps WOW is the best word. Maybe you can image how great it is from the photos, but it is not enough. If you have a chance, you must go to feel it, see it, and enjoy it. I have no idea when my next trip will be, but I want to go asap once I have company.

Too much going on... ( Part III )

The two lights represent the World Trade Center towers. They were lightened on 9/11 since 2002. However, last year was the last time we could see the lights. Due to the budget, they won't be seen anymore.

We are going to see the new World Trade Center on 2010. By the time it finishes, the new WTC will be the highest skyscraper in the world. I wish Taipei 101 could remain its highest record forever, because I am from Taiwan!

Too much going on... ( Part II )

Let's move on; time goes back to the start of the 2006 Fall semester. I finished my first job in the U.S. when the summer ended. Before I left, the owner of ITC asked me to stay after school started. I declined to do so because I knew that was not the place I wanted to be. That says I was unemployed. I took two MBA courses and one IS online course. I was a little bit nervous about taking the MBA courses - Economics and Statistics - because I took only IS courses before. The terms in Business and IT are different; indeed, they could be the same words but mean differently. For example, security. In IT, it means the state or quality of being safe or protected, but in Business, it means the evidence of debt or ownership, such as stocks, notes, or bonds. I guess that's the reason we have to take GMAT. Besides the terms, I was doing fine. Classes are boring, so let's skip it. I couldn't remember when, but it was like late September. We had a career fair on campus, so I attended. As you may know, when you go to a career fair, what you need to do is giving out your resumes as many as possible. You don't want to miss any possibilities. The more resumes you give, the more chances you will have. And that's exactly what I did. I got an email from my current supervisor two weeks afterwards. I was wondering how she got my resume. But anyway, I was excited about the interview. That was my fourth interview. I cannot say I didn't feel nervous at all, but it was like making a presentation in class. For real, I didn't feel so much pressure. Carolyn, the associate director, interviewed me and talked a little bit about what they were looking for. As usual, I came back and was waiting for the further contact from her. I didn't know how many people they interviewed, but in general all interviewers will say "we still have couple candidates, and we will contact you." In a week, Carolyn contacted me again for the second interview. In the U.S., if you have a second interview, it means you are almost on. I was so excited about it. Colleen, the director, interviewed me. There is one question I was asked often during the interviews: why did you come to NY or why did you come to the U.S.? I said it out loud in my mind: money. But, it would never work in the interviews, so don't say it if you were asked. Instead of saying my real mind, I said I want to extend my vision. I want to see more than Taiwan. I want to see this world from a leading country’s perspective, and something pretty. Oh, my God! I felt I was totally fake. You know what. It doesn’t matter because it worked.

Let’s continue on my internship because I found it is much more interesting than telling you about school. I remember Carolyn asked me how long it would take to build the database. And I said one week, which is 20 hours because I was allowed to work only 20 hours per week. She seemed to be shocked. Maybe I should have said two weeks instead. However, my action was like when something approaches to your eyes, you will close your eyes immediately. When I saw her shocking face, I was worried maybe it was much difficult than I thought. Well, it turned out NOT. I made my first impression of my hard working and my capability of handling this job. I transformed the excel spreadsheet into database and the paper-based application into computer-based interface. It is impossible to apply everything you have learned in school to you job because most of time what you need for your job will not be something you learned in school. I don’t know if this is the case of other fields, but in IT, we never stop learning. If you have other choices, don’t come to IT world. It will kill you unless you really enjoy what you learn today will become useless tomorrow. Before I took this job, I had never used Infopath, one of the Microsoft Office applications, and I had no idea about it. Fortunately, I am pretty good at MS Office applications. They are all similar to each other, just have different functions, I feel so. I started using it and made it work after two weeks, or I should said in one week because I was part time, don’t forget about it. Of course, I had difficulty using it sometimes because it was totally new to me. Fortunately, I have a very good teacher Mr. I – the Internet. It is quite simple that you can get an answer about your questions on the Internet nowadays. Before I continue, I have to mention one of my other characteristics – quick learner. There is a co-worker who was doing Infopath as well, and he also encountered some problems. He usually came to me and asked for help. Whenever he said he needs my expertise, I felt proud but felt little bit over complimented as well.

Too much going on... ( Part I )

It has been a very long time since last time I posted. In the past 9 months, there are a lot of things going on in my life. Last summer I got my first intern in ITC. It is a small company doing electronic component business. Due to the size of the firm, I was assigned to be a project coordinator and to lead a team in China. It was a great experience for me because I was able to practice what I have learned in school in a real world and prepare myself for my career. In those two months, it was quite common that I had to work even after I got home. I usually got phone calls from the China branch for the assignments that I assigned to. They were nice people and respected me. However, sometimes I felt annoyed with their phone calls, and they left me no choice; I must either pick up the phone call or call them back if I missed. Otherwise, I would see something that wasn't exactly what I asked for. I don't mean they are really that bad, well, sometimes I felt so. I think it also has something to do with the culture. They just didn't get what we were doing here, and I had to explain in details, which drove me crazy. On the other hand, I felt they relied on me a lot, which is not a bad thing, I think. Maybe I should say I like that feeling - to be relied on. Why? I guess it must be one of my characteristics - responsibility.

My first suite

White House

Due to the tragedy on 9/11/2001, the security in Washington, D.C. has become very strict. The police looked at our movement every single minute. The tour guide said we could take picture with the police before, but not now. If you go close to them, they will stop you and warn you against going any closer. I don't understand why the terrorists have been making the world nervous. Last week, there was another boom found before the airplane took off. If the bomb was not found, I think I won't sit here and peacefully writing my blog. I hope that terroristic attacks will disappear in the world someday.

Who is the King

Who is the King? I am the King! See how many kings I have. There are many fast food store, but I like Burger King the most. Whenever I go to watch movies, I always buy my lunch in Burger King. However, it is not good to eat too much. I think you know why there are a lot of BIG people in America - FAST FOOD.

Annapolis, MD

The United State Naval Academy is in Annapolis, MD. While on the way to Washington, D.C., we stop by Annapolis and took Harbor Queen, a ferry, to sightsee the naval school. This school is very beautiful. I wish I could go inside and take some pictures. This navy stuff makes me recall my army life. One, Two, One, Two, One, Two ......

First Time

March 25 was my first time to wear LBJ III. I remember I shot many three-point shoots. This shoes really hepled. (I know it is just my self-satisfaction.) Before I met those PACE University Taiwanese students who play basketball, I had played basketball for a long time, probably 10 months. I haven't played basketball since March 26. It has been a while again. Life is so busy. Right now I work from Monday to Friday. I deeply feel what kind of life is busy. Everyday I wake up in the morning and come back in the night. After dinner, it is almost about time to take a rest. Sometimes I don't want to go out on the weekend; I just want to stay at home and relax my mind and body. I believe some of you will agree with me.