Diary these days

First Week in LA, 2022

I’ve had a fulfilling first week in Los Angeles, and I appreciate #ibuypower for giving me an opportunity to have a business trip in LA for a month.

Two months before the business trip. I kept binge-watching the Netflix series and @worldfriends01 episodes in order to accustom myself either the intonation and culture in America. After I came to the US, I still needed to be accustomed to the way they speak. The people there speak fast, and each person has their own unique, melodic tone speaking English, whereas I'm only used to the typical American accent. I’m still learning the culture and slang there.

It is still tough for me in terms of communication. I think I am an extrovert person, but at some point, I have less confidence in my intonation. I wish I can have more confidence speaking with foreigners.

During my first weekdays, I worked hard on our ongoing project in order to meet the launch day. We are going to launch on 10/10. This night is an important night for me and our team. Hope everything goes well then.

On Friday night, I had a great time with my colleagues. We spent the whole night chatting and drinking and had a deep conversation

On Saturday Kelly, Mark, Peggy, and I went to the shopping mall nearby for browsing the outfit there.

Today, we took a long ride going to Desert Hill Outlet. In the beginning, I really cared about the price. After a while, I lost control. I was just going on and on seeking a better deal and purchasing, and I felt I was mental totally.

I also met my old friend here.

I’ve had a great time with my colleagues in the US. I felt so glad to end the avatar relationship with Daniel and Tom, and I also met a new friend, Michelle, who is accountable for copywriting in our project. I also miss Manny, my ex-colleague.

I live with the Taiwan team, so we have more time together. I felt grateful to have more opportunities to know them better. I chatted with Mark while jogging, and had a deeper conversation with Peggy while I had a chance alone with her in the living room, and so did Rex.

I am so touched and I still have a lot to say. I love everyone here, and I wish time stops at this moment.

2022 10/4-11/3 Business Trip Recap

I brought lots of clothes, phlegm, and memories to Taiwan. There are many people has their American dream and I’ve already been there😀

I took nearly 3000 photos and videos of my life. I pretty much love the life there, and some suggested I stay there 😂

There are so many kind people either here and there. When I reopen my mobile, I saw so many people asking me whether I safely arrived including my parents. It was an unforgettable memory that when I was sick after taking a vaccine, I received so many presents from colleagues. Darren even lent me the VIP room to let me rest

After Rex’s leave (10/28 flight), we lost our sponsor and spent thrifty life the last week.

Thanks Yi Ting to phone me sharing her recent career and life. I’ll be a decent being in Taiwan, more focused on work-life balance, and don’t forget to exercise on a regular basis.Peggy and Kelly taught me a lot of cooking skills at our Airbnb, so I gain a lot of cooking sense. Other than that, I drives, used ovens, and knew more about music and alcohol. I felt like I’m more independent than before.

My parents told me they are worried about the high tension with China and wish I can move to the US if possible 🤣 I love Taiwan and the US, but my lord is in Taiwan. I go after my lord and my girlfriend 🙏

Time is fleeting. A month ago I was looking forward to coming to the US, and now it was over

2023 01.16 an unforgettable memory

跟同事吃完晚飯以後，我從樹林跑回新莊。短短的6公里多，對我來說距離好遠，也帶給我好多體會。

這段路雖然沒有像從新莊到土城這麼長，不過由於新莊到土城有一條河堤連接兩地，所以不用擔心沒有路走。樹林鮮少有給人走的道路。沿路上雖然有些地方有路燈，不過某些路段很黑暗，此外死路很多，讓我不安到開始聽佛教如來宗慶生法會的影片，也重新引導讓我學會跟 師父佛心印心。

某一段路很黑很臭，沿路上有垃圾掩埋場，且一望無際的草地上有沒有狗會突然出現我也不知道。一切的未知被擺到眼前，即使沿路上已經有很多路燈，路面上都還是鋪著柏油，仍覺得無法預期的死巷以及沒有盡頭的未知讓我很想找個扶木攀。

因此我想到了 師父！平常想到什麼就可以透過網路來滿足，很少有陷入絕望的時候，人生有很多狀況但也過得下去，因此就算有些痼疾也沒有很積極的去看待。不過當時開始想到 師父以後，心中開始明亮起來，突然很想要好好回家禪定，面對下一個死路變得沒有那麼害怕。

記得上次有體會的時候是在某天早上的禪定，當時抱持著很感恩的事情想要寫下來，沒有立即做之後就忘記了。在我昨天有這樣體悟之後我仍沒有立即禪定，因為看到燈火通明的剎那心便安下來，恐慌而心理澎湃的感覺就沒有之後又回到之前的狀態了

After eating dinner with my colleagues, I ran back to Xinzhuang from Shulin. The short 6 km seemed far to me, and it gave me a lot of experience.

Even though this road is not as long as the one from Xinzhuang to Tuchung, as there is a river embankment connecting the two places, there is no need to worry about not having a road to walk on. There are very few trees in Shulin, so there are few paths for people to walk on. Although there are streetlights on some parts of the road, some sections are very dark. In addition, there are many dead ends, which made me feel uneasy and start listening to a video of the Buddha's Birthday Celebration of the Tathagata Sect. This also helped me to re-learn how to align my heart with the heart of my teacher and Buddha.

One section of the road was very dark and smelly, with a landfill along the way, and I didn't know if there were any dogs on the endless grass. All the unknowns were put in front of me, and even though there were many street lights on the road and the surface was covered with asphalt, I still felt that the unpredictable dead ends and the unknown without an end made me want to find a tree to climb.

Therefore, I thought of my teacher! Usually when I think of something, I can satisfy it through the internet, and there are rarely times when I am in despair. Life has many situations but I can still get through them, so even if there are some aches and pains, I don't actively look at them. However, when I started thinking of my teacher, my mind started to brighten up, and I suddenly wanted to go home and meditate well and face the next dead end without fear.

I remember the last time I had this realization was during a morning meditation session. I wanted to write it down because I felt very grateful, but I forgot after not doing it right away. Even after having this realization again yesterday, I still didn't immediately meditate because the moment I saw the bright lights, my heart calmed down and the panicked and agitated feeling was gone, returning to my previous state.

2023 01.30 family reunion

The English translation for "家庭聚會" is "family gathering.", and "family reunion" is another English equivalent for "家庭聚會." Both phrases refer to a gathering of members of a family, often for the purpose of reconnecting, catching up, and celebrating family relationships.

今天跟家人吃錢都是難忘的回憶，爸爸竟然稱讚貴如很愛我，並且要我能夠珍惜跟貴如的緣分不要有外緣。感恩 師父！讚歎 師父！今天也久違的跟弟弟聊天跟聊 師父。過去都沒有好好跟弟弟聊天，因此過去在分享 師父的時候很生硬弟弟也都沒有辦法接受。從弟弟開始覺得人生很無趣之後，我便開始跟弟弟聊 師父帶領我們的目的

話題很自然而然的就從講到如何克服自己大腦好好唸書的話題，到跟弟弟聊到我們家，最後聊到生命的意義很自然而然的就分享，其中講到人是修行的交通工具這段沒有任何心虛。我知道接下來就是好好落實關心弟弟，但這也是最難的了

2023 02.01

位居美國同事最近因為遠距離的關係分手了，我用很破的英文跟美國同事分享。只有提到了佛曲跟提到人需要修行。