A Chinese person's American life | 一个中国人的美国生活
Story 1: I am waiting for you. I took bus to work everyday. It gets cold and rainy in Seattle, such as today. I took off work, waiting for traffic light, and saw my bus stopping at the bus stop from distance. I was upset and sad, thinking to myself, “I guess I have to... Continue Reading →
Have you gone through a period of time, that is so intense, from difficult relationships, struggles in life decisions, and that in some quiet night, you just whisper to yourself, "I just want a normal life..." Yes, me too. This blog is about what I learned during this period of time. It is about why... Continue Reading →
On my way to work on April 6th, I listened to a podcast. It is an interview with Vanessa Van Edwards, the author of Captivate. It described her way to have dazzling conversations in a networking setting: "It is not about how to impress other people, but how to give other people opportunities to impress... Continue Reading →
The other day, a friend asked me: "Do you write novel?" Me: "What scene?" Him: "Love. Doubt. Courage." Me: "Any other constraints?" Him: "100 words. Exact." So here you go. This novel is dedicated to the people who are unsure about love, or people who are unsure whether their personal passion can turn into a... Continue Reading →
You may question: wow, are you seriously trying to answer this ultimate life question? Well, nope. Today I want to share a moment when I felt "This is why life is worth living". If you know me, you know I love asking questions. Not everybody loves to answer. I get it. I have a friend,... Continue Reading →
Today's post is not going to be nutritious or insightful or meaningful in any ways.---I've heard people say, a lot of their memories are associated with food. I am not a foodie. To be honest, I'm probably the opposite. I mostly treat eating as an intake of calories, to support daily function of my body... Continue Reading →
【扫地僧】Just now, I went downstairs of my apartment MPP to get a parcel. Met Sam, the doorman. Sam: "Gloria, haven't seen you for a while, how's going." Me: "Good, just finished midterm." Sam: "How's your mid term?" Me: "It's ok. Got 100." Sam: "Jez...why do you think that's only ok?" Me: "Because it's not the... Continue Reading →
Today I had an one on one with another manager who is originally from Europe, and one of the smartest and most distant person I have met. He shared how leaving his religion that he has been raised up with has shaped him, how divorcing and leaving a 14-year marriage has shaped him. What it... Continue Reading →
回上海那天，我五点多就要去机场。来接我的是个大胡子老爷爷Dave。说到三番和纽约的房租，他说“我儿子现在在纽约学音乐，以后会成立乐队。他特别幸运，中学的时候遇到很好的爵士乐老师，所以就立志做下去。” 我问他这是你唯一的儿子吗。Dave说 “我还有一个女儿29岁，还有一个儿子31岁。女儿在西海岸学心理学，以后会做心理医生。大儿子也是学音乐的，和小儿子从小去的同一所学校跟的同一位老师，非常有天赋，一直带着弟弟。” 他停顿了一会儿，继续说，“他18岁那年车祸去世了。不过虽然如此我还是把他当成我的儿子感觉他还和我在一起。We know it's God's will. But we don't understand. We can't take it. We were angry about it. But it is what it is." 说着说着他哽咽起来，黄黄的灯光照亮车外安静的高速路，以及车里长长的沉默。不久后我们就抵达了机场。Dave帮我把行李提下来，表情略有点尴尬，对我说谢谢。 我想，我最后悔的事，就是没有给他一个拥抱。亲爱的陌生人。 (Originally posted on Sept 17, 2016 on Wechat)
我爸爸。2010年12月27日，也就是恰好六年前，我写过一篇文章叫《我爸爸》，现在拿出来看，觉得非常庆幸在我记得的时候把这些事儿都记了下来。记得当时我妈说，我爸看了之后太感动，跑到厕所去哭。http://blog.renren.com/blog/233998054/703906336?bfrom=01020110200昨天po了一个我爸给我付学费的事儿，没想到被点160多个like…引起了很多同龄人的共鸣。问朋友们的爸爸们好！又到了一年的结束，鉴于2016年是我和我爸异地的第一年，我决定留下一点文字在这里纪念我和我爸的友谊。 总的来讲，我爸的一生就是励志的一生。我爸和我妈结婚那会儿，家里经济条件和我妈家里差十万八千里。老丈人不同意，我爸就各种软磨硬泡晓之以情动之以理地把美人娶回了家。我妈还有三个妹妹，于是有四个女婿，每年外公外婆都会评选最佳女婿，我爸连续当选过好几年。 我小学那会儿，我爸工作调动，他每个周末骑着他的小电驴去一个亲戚家学电脑和会计。从一开始连鼠标都不敢碰，拼音也不会，到现在不管什么软件一看就明白。那段时间看到我爸一到周末就不见，我还特别生气，现在觉得真是一个英明的选择，科技正是大势啊。 我爸最最开心的活动就是到我学校公司去讲话。小学毕业，大学毕业典礼家长代表讲话，还有我在LEK工作的时候家庭日家长代表讲话。他经常去“出席大场合”，完全不是因为我有多出色。我一直都是个mediocre。应该是因为我特喜欢讲关于我爸的轶事，然后管事儿的人一想到要请“家长代表”，就能想到他。 我觉得我和我爸共同有的核心竞争力，就是长着一张真诚脸！就即使你感觉他说的也都是场面话，但实在太真诚了真的不能不感动。在LEK那次，他说“自从我女儿进了艾意凯，我除了关注我女儿每天下班时间，我还跟踪我们艾意凯每年的全球咨询公司排名。今年我们进前十了，我感到特别高兴，特别自豪！”我还记得海董笑得花枝乱颤。 我爸没有上过negotiation也没学过leadership，但他特别能搞定事儿。大到他厂里有五百人规模的举菜刀的闹事，他都能搞定。小到家里亲戚的情感纠纷，他一出马立即摆平。 有一件事我一辈子都不会忘记，每每遇到ethical dilemma，都会想起我爸的话。记得我在交大那会儿，大二转专业，期中考试课特别多来不及复习，就动了邪念，想开张病假条和老师说并到期末。晚上八点给我爸打电话，说了我这个想法。他二话没说就从家里开了三十几公里到闵行停在我寝室楼下。然而我上车坐了五分钟就下车乖乖去通宵复习了。我上车后，我爸说，“晓璐，你在爸爸心中一直是个特别诚实，特别完美的孩子。你现在要做这个事情会留下终生污点。你考虑考虑清楚。如果你还是决定要做的话，我们马上回家，明天我就可以给你弄到病假单。”第二天早上考的是会计，我考了三十几分。考完出来给我爸打电话，大哭一场。一夜长大。 我爸这辈子也经历过不少事情。我大学毕业两个月，我妈生病去世了。在我妈重病期间，他求爷爷告奶奶，变卖家产，日夜陪护，给我妈治病。他并没有想过是不是要留点钱给自己，他总是说，人在一切都在，千金散尽还复来。后来还是争不过病魔的气力和上天的旨意。我妈生病期间，家里亲戚都特别辛苦。如果你们看到的话，我在这里再次谢谢你们！ 我爸做什么事都all in，所以得到很多人的尊敬, 但又是个特别拿得起放得下的人，思路清爽。我妈去世后，我爸并没有消沉很久。那年我和我爸还一起去台湾散心。不久后，我爸和我说了他的下半段人生规划。由于我以后要出国，为了让我安心发展以及继续给我坚强后盾，他打算再找个老婆。但他想找的这个人必须满足五个criteria，如果找不到就不结。我还记得他的framework特别严谨。得到我的支持之后，他开始戒烟和减肥。抽了二十年的烟不抽了。每天晚上在小区跑步，半年减了20多斤。大家都说他越来越年轻了。 后来，我爸就遇到了我阿姨。我第一次听到阿姨的声音是在微信，我觉得她和我妈妈讲话声音特别像。后来见了面，感觉非常亲切。不久之后，他们俩举行了一场童话般的婚礼。我非常有幸能够在我爸的婚礼上致祝辞，两位长辈，这些年风风雨雨，真的不容易。和他们生活在一起，看到他们这么幸福，全世界旅行，我才明白原来happily ever after真的是存在的。非常感谢阿姨对我和我爸的悉心照料。因为他们的结合，我还得到了一个超帅的哥哥，一只超萌的小狗，和一架钢琴，都是我童年的梦想。我想，也许是冥冥之中自有天意。我曾经以为失去的幸福家庭，现在“变本加厉”地全部回来了。我感到非常幸运。我感到妈妈在天之灵一直在保佑着我们。 (Originally posted on Dec.19th, 2016 on Wechat)
Gloria's Blog 