The beginning of the beautiful.

Amy Chua. The infamous article that hit straight into the hearts of many people. An article that was even translated in Chinese and sent around via email that bounced around many families. I would know, my mom received the email even before I mentioned the “Chinese Mothers are Superior” article to her.

All in all, I think what she says has a lot of depth and context. Sure, many American aka “Western” families are all outraged that she has generalized their way of parenting, of bringing up their loved ones, as a more “hands-off” approach. But come to think of it, its true. Have you seen any stand-up comedies and comedians? They all emphasize the fact that Asian parents push their children more than any other group and have more stringent ways of doing so, while Caucasian families “should beat their kids” (Russell Peters).

Anyhow, back to the main topic. Sure, the ridiculous acts of preventing her children from going out to play, from having sleepovers, from watching TV, and the list goes on and on. But for what? Time devoted to other activities of course. It may be slave labor at first, but they will appreciate it later. As a person raised in a moderate family, I was always pushed to excel in all subjects when I was young. Whenever I came home with anything but exceptional grades, my father would yell at me, and drill me five times harder than before. One time I remember doing terribly in long division while in elementary school. My father took me aside at home, and constantly practiced hundreds and hundreds of problems, day after day. When another math test came up, I aced it with flying colors. Or the time when I was coming home with B’s in English while in middle school. My father sought the teacher and asked him how I could improve. When my teacher recommended me an English tutor, my father found the best he could possibly find and had me tutored a few times a week. I too, did well enough to earn an A that semester (thank god). The main point is, my father sought the best in me, and wanted to infuse skills that were necessary to improve and better my future. Although he yelled at me day after day, he assumed that I was strong enough to withstand his constant emotional aggression. Some nights, as I lay crying in bed and thinking about how much of a failure I was, I always pushed myself harder, knowing that I could be better. This quality, this thirst for something more, can never be quenched. I will always strive for more and never be satisfied till I obtain what I want.

You’re probably wondering why I haven’t mentioned my mother. My father was always the hard ass of the family, pushing me in all technical and academic aspects. My mother, on the other hand, was more “normal” as you’d say. She wanted me to enjoy sports, and made me play a season of baseball, soccer, basketball, tennis, and the list goes on and on. She also wanted me to play a musical instrument, which was initially the piano, but my father thought it would be a waste of time: time that could have been better spent studying and perfecting my grades. In the end, my mother won (mainly because I was with her in Hong Kong and my father had no control over it), and I chose the flute because I love the way it sounded. But… alas, I quit the flute after middle school. I was never really good at it, although I’ve never admitted it. In a strange way, part of me wishes that my parents forced me to learn the piano and I completely regret not playing it earlier. In the future, I’d like to remedy that with my children and sign them up for piano lessons as early as possible. I know they’d thank me later.

Now, in retrospect, I’m thankful for the way my parents brought me up. They only wanted the best for me, to prepare me for the real world, and to ensure that I was always capable of anything I put my mind to. As Amy Chua said in her book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” it’s only fun if you’re good at it. It’s so true. And in order to be good in something, it takes practice, practice, practice. I remember reading an article, after practicing a skill repeatedly, the areas of the brain involving motor function start to be used less and the higher cognitive areas of the brain become turned on. Thus, suggesting that the unlocking of deep thought associated with the skill.

Okay, done thinking about Amy Chua. I’m so amazed at her courage to release such an article/book. It takes a lot of guts to write something, knowing that you’d face the heat from all sides.

For Good - Wicked Soundtrack

I’ve heard it said 
That people come into our lives for a reason 
Bringing something we must learn 
And we are led 
To those who help us most to grow 
If we let them 
And we help them in return 
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true 
But I know I’m who I am today 
Because I knew you… 

Like a comet pulled from orbit 
As it passes a sun 
Like a stream that meets a boulder 
Halfway through the wood 
Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? 
But because I knew you 
I have been changed for good 

It well may be 
That we will never meet again 
In this lifetime 
So let me say before we part 
So much of me 
Is made of what I learned from you 
You’ll be with me 
Like a handprint on my heart 
And now whatever way our stories end 
I know you have re-written mine 
By being my friend… 
 

Wicked, nothing short of spectacular.

Nothing can describe the sights that we see with our own eyes. Only with cameras and art can we capture anything relatively close to reality, but far from its utter perfection.

Silhouette of Santa Monica pier and its playground

Loving the lighting and the shadows cast by this makeshift boat

And of course, who could forget, Santa Monica Pier. Vivid, bustling, and beauty in all its glory.

One word: Busy.

All shot with Chris Do’s Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8. Would have gotten this bad baby but I’m still awaiting my Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 this Friday. I hope it can catch crisp images like this lens can.

I usually don’t post that many pictures of my mom’s dog, but there are some exceptions. 

She (Coco) just looks so happy and whenever I come back, I feel like she knows that I’m going to be leaving soon, so she always follows me around the house and looks at me with these inquisitive black eyes of hers. It’s strange to think of the quick attachment between dog and man. One of my co-workers was talking about a foreign film this dog would run to the train station where his master would occasionally travel by until one day the master died. The dog continued to run to the train station and wait for his master for 10 years, not knowing that his master had passed away. Now that’s real love and loyalty.

Anyhow, on a brighter note! I just so happened to catch some pictures of Coco blinking with my camera.

Oh and as you’ll see later on, I’m a sucker for angles cause I feel like it brings more out of the picture, and it captures more of the essence of what I’m trying to show to my viewers.

(Coco playing with tissue paper)

Even though I was extremely skeptical that our family could take care of anything let alone a dog, I must say, Coco has been a great addition to the family and a true blessing.

I said I’d start a photo blog of memories or things I’ve done/seen. So here we go!