eBooks

Ever since I was a small child, I've loved the smell of brand new books - the ink, the fresh pages never before touched by a human hand, all of it!  The start of the new school year always meant new books.  Schools in America recycle most of their textbooks.  After a short while, that new book smell is replaced by musty, library kind of smell.  So, I would have to get my new book fixes by buying books from store books.  I was always glad that my mom never opposed to buying me new books.  I am the same way with Bun Bun; she has a nice collection of all sorts of books.  It warms my heart to see her flip through them, study the images on each page, and run her little finger across the words.

With lots of time for reading during my commute into the city, I'm always on the lookout for new reading material.  Buying new books can get expensive very quickly.  Borrowing them from the library would solve that problem and go easy on my wallet.  But, they are very heavy and are adding a lot of additional weight to my backpack.  That heaviness is felt even more along my 15-min brisk walk to the train station.  What's something that can solve both problems, you ask?  How about reading apps on electronic devices that I already own?  What's even better is borrowing eBooks from the library!  It's not quite the same, not being able to smell and flip through the pages; but I'm slowly adapting to technology in the 21st century.  Alas!

Books, glorious books!

During my year-long sabbatical, I've been commuting into the city to do full-time research.  During the train ride, I have now tons of time to read.

Since May, here is the list of books I've finished:

• The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson
• She’s Got Her Mother’s Laugh, Carl Zimmer
• Spillover, David Quammen
• Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan
• Shape of the Eye, George Estreich
• Neanderthal Man, Svante Paabo
• The Connected Child, Karin Purvis
• Heartland, Sarah Smarsh
• The Tangled Tree, David Quammen
• The Philadelphia Chromosome, Jessica Wapner
• Taking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell

All of these books, except Crazy Rich Asians, were non-fiction which is my preferred genre.  Most of them are about science, specifically genetics.  Spillover was my favorite among them.  It chronicled the rise and spread of several infectious diseases caused by viruses.  About many I have just recently learned.  Many viruses are carried by animals and spillover into humans.  Chimpanzees are reservoirs for HIV; bats are reservoirs for SARS, Hendra virus, and Nipah virus; birds and pigs are hosts for influenza.

I was introduced to author David Quammen through the TWIV podcast and wanted to read another, more recent book he wrote.  This led me to The Tangled Tree, which was about evolution through the lens of modern genetics and analyzing DNA sequences.  Comparing DNA sequences of different organisms has led to refined sorting of them into 3 major domains of life: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya.  If you're wondering, we humans belong in the Eukarya domain.  However, the numbers of species in each of the Archeae and Bacteria domains far outnumber those in the Eukarya.

Heartland and Talking to Strangers were two eye-opening books on sociology.  Heartland is Sarah Smarsh's memoir about growing up in poverty, in America!  Talking to Strangers explores why we often have preconceived and wrong ideas about individuals based on the few minutes of interaction.

Shape of the Eye is a memoir written by a Dad raising a daughter with Down Syndrome.  Much of his and his family's story mirror mine.  I've been inspired to write a book about DS, weaving personal stories with the biology and genetics.  Perhaps that will be my project for my next sabbatical.

I am still in the middle of these:

• Attaching in Adoption, Deborah Grey
• Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates

There are a couple of books about adoption in the mix.  Our family is in the processing of adopting a young girl from China.  We are preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.  There's a lot of psychology in these books which I know very little.

Thanksgiving

A picture log to catch you readers on lots that's been happening since May (from the most recent)!

Happy Thanksgiving 2019!

Fall visit at Pop-pop and Grammy's house with Aunt "Hee Hee"

Bun Bun was a cat for Halloween 2019

Our Ratatouille-themed trunk-and-treat exhibit with Chef Bun Bun.

Third grade has been a wonderful adventure.

Happy birthday, Bun Bun!

Dance recital (Shamrock Shake)

First day of summer school

Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, PA

Atlantic City (NJ) Steel Piers

Same approximate geographic location.  Me on the left in 1977; Bun Bun on the right in May, 2019.

One of my favorite pictures, taken at the Living Mall in Taipei

One of many yummy stops along the Kaohsiung food tour

Spring 2019

Hello Family and Friends!

It's been a long while!  Can this really be the first blog since last July?  Ten months ago?

Second grade has been treating Bun Bun really well.  She's making great strides in staying focused and learning about all sorts of things.  She reads like a champ, too!


Recently, Bun Bun and I had our first conversation:

Mom:  Do the zebra fish at school have stripes like zebras?

Bun Bun:  Yeah.

Mom:  How big are they?  This big?  [I held out my hands about 1 foot apart.]

Bun Bun:  No...

Mom:  This big?  [I moved my hands closer, about 3 inches apart.]

Bun Bun:  No...  this big...  [Bun Bun held her hands together about an inch apart, the typical size of zebra fish.]

Mom:  Were there lots of lots of them?  Like 10?

Bun Bun:  Five.


I'd say she's come along way in speech!  Here are some recent pictures.

Young Athletes (part of Special Olympics) track meet 2 weeks ago.  Bun Bun came in 2nd with long jump and 4th in some sprint events (Does it matter that there were 3 other runners in the race?  Ha ha ha!)

Celebrating Easter at our church.  Bun Bun has been participating in swimming practices with Special Olympics.  Since these practices are on Sundays, we've been attending another church closer to home and the pool.  We got a small break from practices during Easter.

Bobcat breakfast hosted by school is a monthly event where students and their families are invited to share breakfast together.  It's always a fun community event.

Bun Bun and the ILES mascot, the Bobcat.

Bun Bun celebrated the 100th day of school by standing still like a statue for 100 seconds.

I have finished out this semester looking forward to a year-long sabbatical!  Woo hoo!  I will be working full time in a lab at a much larger research institution, learning some new things.  It'll be really nice to take a break from teaching, students, and grading.

Soon, we'll be heading to Taiwan for a visit.  This will be Bun Bun's first official trip.  Technically, she's been there before, in my stomach, and didn't get to see a whole lot.  She'll be meeting aunts, uncles, and cousins!

Seven!

It's almost August, and, to me, summer is starting to wind down.  I'm getting ready for the fall semester, starting in just 4 weeks!

Bun Bun happily turned 7!  It seems to have been a huge transition from being 6 years old.  I don't know...  It just seems to be a big difference, 6 and 7.  In September, she'll start 2nd grade.  We hope to enroll her at a dance school where we also held her birthday party.  Music, dancing, and mirrors are a winning combination!

This has been a busy summer with lots of traveling and more to come.  We were in Puerto Rico for 5 days, tagged along Daddy's conference.  There's nothing quite like being able to roll out of bed and stroll to the beach.

Tea parties and poetry cafe

Bun Bun and I had tea parties with Dollies all weekend.  Check out her missing teeth; she lost her 6th last week.

 

Bun Bun's school held Poetry Cafes for each class.  Family and friends were invited for the festivities.  Bun Bun recited her poem, "I can".

Spring 2018

This spring, Bun Bun lost her 6th tooth.  All but 5 have completely or partially emerged.

Someone has also been "swimming" with the Special Olympics.

Jesus!

Bun Bun got a little egg from her Sunday School teacher one day in celebration of Easter.  She couldn't wait for me to unwrap the plastic shrink wrap.  When I finally did and handed it back to her, she opened the egg and exclaimed, "Jesus!"

I guess she was paying attention after all.

The little figurine resembled Capt Haddock from the TinTin stories.  I don't think she cared.

What DACA means to me

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act have been in the news a lot lately.  Back in the 80's, this would have applied to me, my older brother, and sister.

My parents brought us to the US from Taiwan in the 80's.  Soon after we arrived, we were enrolled in school.  Unlike the school systems in Taiwan back then, teachers in the US placed more emphasis on free-thinking than requiring 100+ math problems completed for homework in one night.  American kids had more time to develop as a whole person in academics and extracurricular activities.  Kids in Taiwan seemed to only focus on school work and getting into the best high schools, although I doubt this is the case now.

My parents did not come to the US for a better life for themselves.  They came here for us.  They sacrificed for their children.  It was a huge sacrifice because one of them stayed behind in Taiwan.  For 12 years, my mom and dad lived on opposite side of the globe; one to keep his job so he could support his family afar, the other was here with us.  My mom left behind her family, friends, and a very comfortable life to come to a land where she knew hardly anyone, speaking very little English.  She was physically separated from her husband.  They did it for their children.

If you ask any immigrant, I think many will say they did it for their children.  They will say that they sacrificed and left behind much more comfortable lives.

After 7 years of hardship, we finally received our green cards.  Six years later, we became naturalized US citizens.  In 1996, I voted for the first time.  In 2002, I earned a PhD in Immunology and dedicated my thesis to my parents.

Birthday parties

Bun Bun got invited to three birthday parties last month!  One of them was at the Chuck E Cheese restaurant where she played lots of games and met the Mascot. 

She never use to care about mascots until recently.  There's the Bobcat at her school who seem to only really excite the kindergartners and first graders.  When Chuck E Cheese made an appearance at Kayla's party, Bun Bun ran to him (or her?).  But then, it seemed like she wasn't quite sure about the meeting, hence the expressions on her face below.

Bun Bun had a wonderful time at each of the birthday parties.  Two of the three were her classmates from school, from the general education classes.  It was heartwarming for me to see how much her little friends welcomed her into their circles and interacted with her.  They cried, "Olivia is here!"  They included her in some of their games.  They looked out for her.  This is why and how inclusion works!  It is my hope that her peers will never forget about Bun Bun.  When they encounter individuals with different abilities, they will think of Olivia!

Bun Bun wasn't sure about meeting Chuck E Cheese.