Berkeley May Celebrations

In the morning of May 18, 2022, Paul, Nick of Pleasanton, Emily of Stanford and I gathered at 1418 Josephine Street, Berkeley to drive to Hearst Greek Theatre to attend the 53rd Engineering Doctoral Commencement. My sister's youngest daughter Stephanie and her fiancé Tyler both graduated this year as Class of 2022. In a separate car were two graduates, and their parents Ruth, and Hui & Baolin.

This is the second Berkeley commencement Paul and I had been to. The first time was for Nick's Bachelor's ceremony in 2007. Then, we were joined by Lew, Ed, Fernando, Lee Anne, and their mutual friends. 

Opening Ceremony

Courtesy of Titangos Photography

At 9:00 am sharp, the commencement began with the live singing of the American anthem. After the introductory speech from the dean, there were two speakers, keynote speech by Ann Lee-Karlon, COO of Altos Lab, and student speaker Sally Winkler, Ph.D. 2020 BioE. It was quite refreshing to see that all platform speakers were women at Berkeley. There were more than 300 Ph.D. graduates from College of Engineering, covering three years 2020-2022. After over 300 nonstop crownings, and cheers from families and friends whenever their own graduates' names were announced, the commencement ended shortly after 11 a.m., as scheduled. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and breezy, especially when one could sit on the cool stone chairs.  

Tyler, Stephanie & Her Advisor

Courtesy of Titangos Photography

After the ceremony, we all repaired to the Campanile to have the reception prepared by the College of Engineering. The two honorees were busy introducing us to their advisors and schoolmates. Despite the mid-day sun with hundreds of people milling around, it was surprisingly pleasant and comforting under Sather Tower. Fortunately some things remain unchanged, with the familiar South Hall and Bancroft Library in view below us.

Nine of Us

Courtesy of Titangos Photography

It was a happy occasion to celebrate together our family's latest achievements, with great endeavors from the two hosts, their parents, and cousins Emily and Nick. Paul spared no efforts either, by taking more than 400 photos of the whole event (the edited version). In order to alleviate the stress of the hosts, he volunteered to pick up and drop off Stephanie's parents from and to the San Francisco Airport.

It was also a proud moment to congratulate our five youngsters and their significant others. Among them, there are three doctors, five masters, and more to come. Congratulations to you and your future generations. Please remember all the hard work and expectations of your grandparents. 

Congratulations and go bears! 

From Heavenly Bodies to Marine Mammals

The last two weeks have really been an enchanted time for Paul and me. Thanks to Paul's timely alert, we had two opportunities to view passes of the International Space Station (ISS). Standing right at the end of our driveway, we enjoyed the flyovers that were at 50°or higher on May 11 and 14. As our area was less foggy than our usual East Cliff viewing site, we could watch the proud ISS much longer and further, averaging 8 minutes or more each time.

Courtesy of https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4979

On Monday night, May 16, we saw the long-predicted Blood Moon, a total lunar eclipse. When Paul called me outside, the moon was a total dark blood color. In over an hour, it was transformed from a sliver of shinning hues at the bottom to a full bright moon again. Paul lost no time adjusting his tripod and camera to photograph the process. He captured a series of pictures of the moon changing stages. The eclipse was so total that Nick called us from Pleasanton where he happened to be walking in his neighborhood. "It is so outlandishly amazing," he exclaimed. According to https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4979, there will be a second total Lunar Eclipse on November 8, 2022.

Courtesy of https://www.livemint.com/

Owing perhaps to the mood of the blood moon, the ocean became a little uneasy too. Sunday afternoon, we went to the Point where the waves seemed higher and more urgent. Along Rockview Street, we saw a red SUV marked Marine Mammal Life Rescue on each side of the vehicle. Out of curiosity and concern, we lingered in the area and soon saw two workers carrying a cage with two poles towards the edge of a rock along the beach. A short while later, we saw a baby Harbor seal inside, looking forlorn. One worker told us that the baby had a gash under its neck, which might explain its abandonment. They did wait for some time, hoping to find its mother. We asked her if they were from San Francisco, since the telephone area code displayed on their vehicle was 415. As it turned out, they are stationed at Moss Landing.

Before leaving the seal and rescue workers, we were asked if we could propose a name for the baby seal. "How about Chippy," we ventured. It was readily recorded, in addition to another suggestion of Rock from a nearby spectator.

What an eventful and memorable fortnight in May!

    

See You Later, Leni

Leni spent her first spring break with us last week. It was still quite an experience for both Paul and me.

Prior to her arrival, both of us were a little nervous, even though she stayed with us for more than two weeks a few years ago. Now that she is seven years old, her needs must be changed. Would she feel uncontrollably homesick as before? Would it affect Paul's health? Would it be as tiring as last time?

On noon of April 2, Nick dropped off the car-sick Leni, and immediately turned around to go back to continue his work shift. All of a sudden, our quiet house became full and busy with the big Leni opening the two brand new boxes her mother had packed specially designed for her stay: Hatchimals and rock art. She quickly assembled the animals and then painted all 21 rocks. It was time for a snack, so went on the rest of the week.

Thanks to her diligent mother, speech therapist, and Papou's forewarnings, Leni is now able to express herself to outer world eloquently and accurately. Paul has been totally won over by her description of all shapes and their characteristics, such as triangles, pentagon and octagons. At the beach, she numerated many facts about kelp forests and sea animals residing there.

For the first time, the three of us visited Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, Tuesday April 5. Leni not only recruited a girl visitor to accompany her, but pushed all the interactive buttons, and gently petted all the live sea creatures, such as muzzles, corals, anemones, and sea stars (no longer called starfish, as she corrected us). After nearly two hours, she was still insatiable until she climbed once more on the outdoor whale from head to tail. 

The temperature shot over 90 degree the next day. It was a beach day and we three went to Capitola Beach in front of the Venetian Hotel. Leni was ecstatic with the waves, sand and endless kelp. What is more, she got herself another playmate whose PE teacher mother volunteered to help watch over their safety with fierce vigilance.

Every morning after her math exercise, Leni and I would spend an hour at Chanticleer County Park, aka Leo's Haven. Whenever there was a Warrior's game, it was a bonding time for Paul and Leni on the couch, cheering and clapping. My crowning success was that Leni took to all three Wonderbooks rejected by my selection team. So much for the theory that children did not like them. 

By the following Saturday April 9, Leni became restless. She wanted to go home, and so she did with her Papa Nick. But she will be back for Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Cruz in June. 

See you later, Leni.

There She Goes: 57-Chevy Panel Truck

This afternoon, Paul sent me two farewell photos of our 1957-Chevy Panel Truck that has been with Paul for more than four decades, and with me since 1989. Parked mostly on our driveway since 1998, she and Chippy were two constant fixtures, or rather, family members of our home. 

It is always emotional for any long-time family members to go. There is no exception with the '57-Chevy. Paul and I have shared many sweet memories with her, particularly in 1989 when I was at UC Santa Cruz. Energetically, Paul took me everywhere in it around Santa Cruz, Porter College, Santa Cruz Wharf, San Lorenzo Valley, etc. In the fall of '89, I got my first waitress job at ABC Restaurant in Scots Valley. Paul would drive and wait for me in the truck until late, sometime freezing in the rainy evening. I still remember the restaurant owner's unhappy face at the sight of the proud truck in the empty park lot. The job did not go anywhere, but got me the right experience for a job at Palo Alto's Jing Chuang Restaurant that helped me to save enough for the tuition of 1990.

The next six years, Paul and I were busy working and studying in Santa Cruz and Berkeley. So was the truck. If not driven, it quietly housed a homeless friend until he was housed with the help of local social services. The following decades saw the truck retired at first along the curb, and then on our driveway. As for our restoration plan, it disintegrated with our working full time, and lack of skills and equipment. Nick and his high-school friends had tried to slow down the rust by painting years ago, but even their paint has been gradually peeled off under the fierce sunlight. It is time to turn to professional car restorers! One of the them from the south answered Paul's Craigslist. He is now the new proud owner of our 1957-Chevy Panel Truck. We are happy both for him and the Chevy that is going to have a proper and well-deserved care. We will get a photo of its restored self, the new owner promised.       

My Nephew Is Married!

In December 3, 2021, Eric, my younger brother's son, happily married his girlfriend at West Hartford Town Hall, Connecticut. It is a truly joyful event for his immediate and extended families.

Conventionally speaking, it is not easy to raise a boy who has a harder time than his opposite sex, adjusting to social and physical expectations, just as the protagonist in The Autobiography of  Lincoln Steffens. It will be the hardest if one is talented, but born into a wrong minority family. 

What amazes me most is the importance of family in front of calamitous challenges. With a combination of traditional TLC, and modern medicine, my nephew, just as his cousin did a decade earlier, has managed to pull himself out of setbacks, and go on with life. By restarting his academic plan, Eric graduated from Pace University, earned a Masters at Columbia University, and was offered a job from The Hartford before his graduation. Now he is a serious employee half way through his requisite examinations, and a proud husband and owner of one hamster.

Congratulations, and go forward and onward, Eric and Jina!

Crow’s Nest: We Live Only Once

Yesterday afternoon at 1:30 pm, Dody and Tom stood on our doorstep as expected. There was no Gail who must have been totally wiped out from her late flight from Hawaii.

It is our birthday celebration encore III for Tom, the baby of the three septuagenarian musketeers this year. It is scary to step onto the 70th threshold, especially alone. But with good friends and hearty laughter surrounding you, it is an entirely different matter. With that light-hearted aura, the four of us ventured out in Paul’s Rav4, just as we did more than a month ago. This time, our destination was not Riva on the Santa Cruz Wharf, but the Crow’s Nest at Seabright Beach.

We arrived at the Crow’s Nest on time and got the scenic window table that our hearts desired. It was after 2:00 pm, but the restaurant was doing pretty well, with nearly all tables occupied in the downstairs section. We had a superb view of the blue ocean, jetty, and Walton Lighthouse, all bathed in bright sunlight. From our window, we could see birds of all feathers resting peacefully on their favorite perch, the big pipe along the water leading to the harbor's ever present dredger.

Being in a seafood restaurant, we selected our favorite dishes from the nearby sea. Tom favored scallops, Dody and Paul chose seafood fettuccine, while I picked tempura prawns. Our food was so delicious and the whole atmosphere so congenial, we temporarily forgot our restrictions on gluten or starch, and enjoyed our lunch heartily. 

As usual, we enjoyed over not only our excellent food and scenic view, but more importantly, our companionship. Dody and Tom shared an identical view about the best restaurants in Watsonville, but differed in their tastes about music, especially about heavy metal. Dody is unequivocal about her preference, but Tom is more understanding and sympathetic towards his professional peers. He and Paul also shared with us their earliest exposure to music. It is simply precious to listen to their stories, and see their varying interests.

After leaving the Crow's Nest, we regrouped in our living room for a nice cup of tea. The sharped-eyed Dody immediately spotted the couch where Nick's family sit for their annual portrait/Christmas card. We all laughed at the fact that it was easier to control kids indoors than outside for serious photography. But the delay from drinking tea also brought a certain penalty to our guests on a heavily traveled Friday late afternoon. It took Dody and Tom more than one hour to drive a distance of ten miles from our house to theirs, even by side streets. But both of them were in good spirits, "... but we were warm and full from a wonderful lunch." We live only once, so please let us savor the moment, even though the moment can be unpleasant sometimes.

Riva, Riva, Riva!

Yesterday afternoon, Dody and Tom treated Paul and me to a relaxing birthday lunch at Riva Restaurant on the Santa Cruz Wharf. It is our second seafood birthday meal after our Crow's Nest dinner on Paul's birthday, November 3rd, with Ed, Fernando, and Nick. 

Soon after 1:00 pm, our door bell rang. It turned out that Dody's medical test ended a bit sooner than expected. So the four of us seized the day and repaired to the Wharf in Paul's Rav4 without further ado. To avoid a 30 to 40 minute wait, we decided to take an aisle table just across from the scenic windows. It turned out to be OK all the same, since the sunshades were already pulled down nearly all the way along the window tables, to reduce the fierce midday sun. With blue water still in sight, we started our delicious lunch and talk. 

Paul and Tom, having seen each other in person only once since COVID-19, had a lot to catch up on. They talked mostly about music, reminiscent of past music venues and concerts in San Francisco and Felton Music Hall. With his profound music knowledge, Tom pointed out several ironic selections of songs used inappropriately in TV commercials, such as Nick Drake's songs recorded inside his room when he was deeply depressed.

Dody and I concentrated on library talk shop. Unlike some retired library managers who have now all become heads of various Friends of Libraries, she is involved in a collaborative nonprofit organization called Village Santa Cruz County, or simply The Village. It is a network of seniors helping seniors navigate the changes, challenges, and joys of aging.  Each member has years of experience and wisdom that they can share with the others. She also told me that it was not advisable to head an organization of one's former profession, due to his/her professional biases or unfinished business. Dody is always a great mentor to me.

Four of us were all appreciative of our good meal, friendship and health. Our happiness is such that I saw smiling faces around us. It is simply divine and contagious to share happy moments with the people one loves.  After lunch, we did not leave the Wharf right away, especially considering the fact that Tom had not been here for over 30 years. We strolled from Riva to the end of the Wharf. Perhaps it is because of an exceptionally balmy November day, or because of the good company we kept, excitement flowed in the air. Even families of sea lions went out of their way to entertain us with their deep and excited cries. A couple of young sea lions kept trying to jump up from water onto their favorite wood perches. They were not in the least discouraged by their failed trials, but buoyed by the cheers and clapping from young human spectators, especially from those pretty young girls. 

We departed in front of our house, but agreed to regroup at Tom's birthday. What a great plan to look forward to! 

 

Take a French Village to Know about Invasion

Having been preparing for a long time to get together all seven seasons of A French Village from Santa Cruz Libraries, Paul and I are now finally over the hump, and marching towards the finish line. 

Courtesy of Prime Video

A French Village (2009-2017) is a TV series directed by Philippe Triboit and Oliver Guignard. It is a story about the German invasion of a small fictitious French village in Jura in June 1940, and it’s immediate and long term aftermath. To be honest, it is no small feat to go through a total of 72 episodes. It is not only because of its length, but mainly because of its heavy subject matter: the loss of freedom, purge of Jewish people from all walks of life, traditional families falling apart, as their wives or mothers were fascinated either by their German captors and collaborators, or by revolutionary movement. 

What strikes one are the numerous insufferable atrocities: waves of village hostages executed as a result of the rigid communist quota to kill German enemies in each city, brutal reprisals for Jew harboring, the November 11 Parade by the Resistance, emotional revenge on their comrade's family massacre, lives lost over the unnecessary destruction of the village bridge, and repeated premature celebrations of "final liberation" which only result in more bloodshed.

I am equally puzzled over the casual attitude towards unnecessary arrests of Resistance heroes, such as Marcel Larcher who was betrayed by his lover's incriminating farewell letter posted on a table at Chez Georges which was frequently by the police. Another casualty is Marie Germain who seems to be the calmest and most level-headed of all leaders. But for a split second, she loses her vigilance, and is captured while watching her team members strolling on the bridge that is never managed to be destroyed. As fate has it, she might have a chance of survival, when the Germans turn her over to the French police. But for some reason, she just cannot stop her verbal personal attack on police head Jean Marchetti who happens to be condemned as "Cannot be saved" by the Resistance group in a prior negotiation, and she is summarily executed.

In the show, almost everyone appears to suffer from a short memory: Daniel Larcher forgives his wife Hortense numerous times, so does Suzanne's husband Gerald. Suzanne is emotional and unreliable, with warning messages from the Revolution leaders from the very beginning, but she is still hanging around, proposing ill-conceived vehicle attacks for supplies, voting for wrong actions, and taking up with a much younger boyfriend after sending Marcel to death row. Apparently, the French Resistance forces are poles apart from their German occupiers as far as document management is concerned. 

What makes the show go on is its ill-disguised mockery and superb ensemble performance by actors such as Robin Renucci (Daniel Larcher), Audrey Fleurot (Hortense Larcher), Thierry Godard (Raymond Schwartz), Richard Sammel (Heinrich Muller), Marie Kremer (Lucienne), and Nicolas Gob (Jean Marchetti). They succeed in portraying a grim reality when one's country is invaded, through the microscope of a small village, which has seemed to turn into a nightmare cruise ship during the outbreak of Covid-19.  

Dear California: Harriet Eddy & The County Library System

Post Zoom Thought: Remember Our Glorious Past

On Thursday evening 5:45 pm, California State Library Foundation Executive Director BrittneyDawn Cook,  my former advisor at Berkeley Michael K. Buckland, Paul and I gathered together in front of our separate screens to get ready for a planned Zoom meeting presenting to the wider world, Harriet G. Eddy and California County Libraries. 

I

At 6:00 pm sharp, registered participants were welcomed in to the main screen. After brief introductions, I started to answer Michael's opening question why I became interested in the topic of researching on Eddy. Why indeed? It all started when I was writing Local Community in the Era of Social Media Technologies (Chandos; 2013). James Gillis, Eddy's mentor, was one of the three historical figures I selected for the book. My interest was intensified when writing Library Services for All Ages (Emerald Insight, 2018) to explore further Gillis and Eddy's efforts in creating a unified  county library system in California. The conclusion is simple: Remember our glorious past. Do not casually cast away a system that had been proven financially sound and scientifically designed by tests of time and practice. Or we will repeat the closure of libraries by the City of Salinas in November 2004, or a constant turnover of library directors who failed to understand conditions of their libraries.

I presented the outline meticulously revised by Michael and Paul. Seeing friendly chats flashing across the screen, I forgot my nervousness and decided to be calm and confident. As scheduled, I completed my 27-page presentation 15 minutes before the hour, for Q&As, such as what primary sources I used and what my next project.

The Zoom discussion was ended by Michael's stories about Philip Keeney’s California plan for Japanese libraries, a plan based on Gillis-Eddy model, and Laura Steffen's book about the history of the model. The audience feedback is positive. The followings are a few samples,

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"That was a great presentation, Hui-Lan! Thank you for sharing it with me, I enjoyed learning this important history" -- Amy

Great talk! Sorry, I had to leave early. I didn't know any of that about how the Library County System started -- Debbie.

"Congrats on your book and the Zoom broadcast. It made me want to learn more about the state and county library systems here in California. And isn't Watsonville still not part of the Santa Cruz County Library system?" -- Jim

"Enjoyed the presentation on Thursday. Makes you think about ALL the heavy lifting put into building an envious statewide library system that everyone now takes for granted. Hard to imagine a woman traveler, especially 100 years ago, going to Russia, etc. Must have been quite an adventure - and just to stay safe! And then meeting Lenin's wife !!  Very impressive" -- Michael A.