merry Christmas

from all of us to all of you, may your seasons be bright and may you have a wonderful Christmas.


peace,
ko

the greatest profession

i don't hide might immense pride in my major and what i do now. i love engineering, i think that it is the greatest profession. i may be wrong in this, but it is what i believe and i have a strong belief. i recently read to engineer is human and i would like to quote something for you:

The great liability of the engineer compared to men of other professions is that his works are out in the open where all can see them. His acts, step by step are in hard substance. He cannot bury his mistakes in the grave like the doctors. He cannot argue them into thin air or blame the judge like the lawyers. He cannot, like the architects, cover his failures with trees and vines. He cannot, like the politicians, screen his shortcomings by blaming his opponents and hope that the people will forget. The engineer simply cannot deny that he did it. if his works do not work, he is damned. That is the phantasmagoria that haunts his nights and dogs his days. He comes from the job at the end of the day resolved to calculate it again. He wakes in the night in a cold sweat and puts something on paper that looks silly in the morning. All day he shivers at the thought of the bugs which will inevitably appear to jolt its smooth consummation.

peace,
ko

work = the crazy

work has been busy lately, hence the lack of posts (for the past couple of weeks and untill the end of the year). fortunately, i have been at work 13 hours a day (at least), take that work/life balance!

peace,
ko

a good thanksgiving

chinh and i went to virgina to celebrate thanksgiving with my little sister's family and our parents. it was a week full of having good drinks, visiting historic sites, eating good food and enjoying the company of family. my sister (zoe) and her husband (tim) have a wonderful house, decorated with a mix of american history flair (they are both history majors), family pictures and comfortable furniture done in such a way that i immediately felt at home as soon as i entered (so much so that i draped myself across their couch and started watching tv). that and they have the best dog in the world (duke) who i hope i get to play with again soon. in short, a wonderful place for a thanksgiving week.

and, coming back to the snow, ice and cold of michigan, i naturally got a bit nostalgic about the previous week. even on the plane ride home, chinh and i teared up a little knowing how special the week was. how fleeting these moments are and how blessed we are that we have a family that not only gets along with each other, but truly loves one another. the de-emphasis of the family unit by our parent's generations (depending on the age of one's parents) has made this kind of get together odd and awkward for many of my friends, even more so by taking a long vacation to visit family (both natural and extended). how many jokes are made about in-laws? how many people dread time with the family? many times the week before our vacation, most people seemed surprised at my excitement at spending this time with our family, their thinking that the time would be much better spent with friends or with the immediate family.

when those friends are gone, who will be there for you?

in other news, its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. everywhere you go, even. this truly is my favorite time of year. not only because i love the snow, but i really enjoy the upbeat feeling that i get. the Christmas carols, the hot chocolate, the time with family, it truly is the greatest season of all.

may you have a wonderful Christmas.


peace,
ko