Spring is here...

 ...and it's pretty! 

===============================================

by PAM

I do think that Spring is the prettiest season - colorful, cheerful with lots of fun transformations around. Fall is the most dramatic and lovely; winter is full of ups and downs - ranging from the most cheerful to the most melancholy; and summer gives the most promises... not all of which it can fulfill.  Spring is not 'dramatic', quite consistent without much promises.  Like the little spring flowers that 

suddenly sprout from the ground, attracting many a-chirping birds and a-buzzing bees, spring sneaks up on you cheerfully.  You can almost hear the 'little giggles' from the colorful flowers as they strained their thin stems to reach out towards the sun through the grasses around them.  

Spring does surprise in a way that is fun and cheery.  And, I do think that springtime in Ithaca in Upstate New York is just incredibly beautiful!  Yesterday was specifically wonderful.  It started as a very foggy morning... so grey but so serene.  It was a good thing that I didn't have to go to work early, I was able to enjoy the peaceful morning.  As the day approached mid-morning though, the sun decided to go 'on duty', and the fog slowly lifted.  On the ground, the dissolving fog revealed colorful little flowers, mostly dandelions and sweet violets, among the very green grass, washed with droplets of dew - so very pretty, indeed! 

I walked on the ground slowly, afraid to crush the dainty flowers.  I snapped a few photos just to remember the lovely moment by.  I am not sure if the little violet flowers are really 'sweet violet'... but I just associated them with BTS... even if they are 'too blue' to be purple.  

Later towards noon, the skies became clear and so blue, and it carried me around in a very good mood.  And so, my first meeting that day with my Humphrey Fellowship non-local Professional Affiliation (PA) supervisor went really well - positive, relaxed and, generally, as cheerful as the Ithaca springtime.

***

Image credit:  All the photos in the collage above belong to me.

***

Wednesday nostalgia...

...just because it's been a while.
=====================================================================
by PAM


I don't remember the last time I wrote a "Wednesday nostalgia" entry here... I just know that it's been a long time since I last wrote one.  Perhaps, this present phase of my life is preventing me from feeling anything related to nostalgia... the practical side of my brain is at work all the time, the nostalgic bit is buried under a heap of overused logic cells that are starting to feel painful - physically, actually.  But, enough is enough!  Forget work for a little while!  I guess it's time to allow a bit of sentimental feeling and nostalgia... and let this tired old brain recuperate.

Last weekend was very good... I was productive work-wise (although I know it's unwise to bring work home).  I had a chance to bond with my sisters... shopping, eating out, and just talking, aside from going to church to pray together as usual.  I also found two truly uplifting e-mails in my inbox. One is a letter from an old friend - a very good one - from Grad School in Ithaca, New York.  For a couple of hours, while I read and re-read the funny letter, and while I replied to it, I felt the rush of teenage-like cheers - I was my 'crazy self', and it felt soooo good! :)  My friend's letter detailed some "special plans", and our plans to get together with our other friends in a not-so-distant-future.  Exciting!  

The second letter carried so many pictures that made me feel thoroughly nostalgic.  The bunch of pictures included this...


Hey, Spring!  What took you so long?

The second letter was detailing the renovations being done at the Stocking Hall in Cornell University through pictures and catchy captions.  Needless to say, that kind of brought warm 

I wonder how everybody's doin'....

nostalgic feeling... after all, I worked in Stocking Hall for five years - five beautiful and unforgettable years! 

The picture above, the facade of Stocking Hall, has nothing to do with the massive renovations inside it and the annex building (labs, pilot plant and the 'Dairy Bar')... but if you spent time in Ithaca, NY, you'd know that when the blossoms finally appeared, it's a special moment alright, you just gotta have to capture it.  And, you just gotta have to do it fast because the beautiful sight has that exasperating habit of disappearing all of a sudden.  And when you're already living away from Ithaca, you'd miss those moments... and the letter sender knew that, and is thoughtful enough to send a snap of that special moment.  Friendship... we call it friendship, and that's how it works - with warm thoughtfulness that you can feel from across oceans.

Boy, I miss Cornell... I miss the people... I miss my friends!  I hope to see them soon... hopefully, in Ithaca, too.  Then again, it ain't matter where... I just want to catch up with them - soon!  Therefore, I need to work hard and finish up my present commitments... and set out once more - to spread my wings and soar once again!  Boy, oh, boy... I totally miss feeling the wind on my face in a carefree 'sky dive' with truly good and sincere friends - those I know for sure would catch me if my 'parachute' would malfunction.  That's the beauty of friendship... it makes all the risk-taking fun, successful, and so worth it.  I want that soon!  Therefore, c'mon, time... fly! 

***  

Saturday photo

It's an explosion... of colors!

I took this photo back in the summer of 2006 in Ithaca, NY. I was going for a morning run outdoors. It was a "celebratory run" - for a major undertaking in Cornell, which finally came to a truly satisfying finish. Gooooaaaal!!! :) I slowed down to avoid a speeding squirrel as I rounded a corner... and followed the squirrel's path with my eyes by reflex. As I did, I saw this... and it took my breath away! I cut my run short and ran back to my apartment. I grabbed my point-and-shoot, and returned to the "crime scene"... to take this evidence. ;)

***