September 21, 2005 - Homecoming

It’s been a little bit of an adventure since returning home 4 nights ago.

It was quite nice to have a family gathering so soon after arriving home. As my family is so good at, we managed to celebrate 3 birthdays on the same evening. The main goal was to celebrate my aunt’s birthday. I think she was the only one who had a true one. We tacked on Dad’s birthday that night because according to the Lunar calendar, he turned 61. It came out at the dinner that my birthday was within one week and therefore was fair game to be added to the list. For our 3 birth anniversaries, we had zero cakes. But, that’s okay since the food at this Montclair Japanese eatery was quite divine (is that too feminine of a word for a guy to use?).



Monday was a day I had been looking forward to for a while. I’ve been away from the Peak Potential sessions for a month ( http://www.peakclimb.org/ ). Though running the program can be an administrative nightmare, I missed very much being with the kids and volunteers. The climbers in the program have been such a inspiration to me, day-to-day as well as the people who have dedicated so much time to helping these kids with disabilities.

The night was filled with kids who I have known for years, including Brittany. Brittany is one of my heroes. Because of her disability, she walks with crutches but blazes up the climbing walls with ferocity. That night, she showed me the coolest thing that she just began to do. She walked from her chair to the climbing wall on her own, no crutches in hand. No doubt, her improvements have been fueled on by her enthusiasm and determination as well as the support of her family and therapists. I have, thus far, found my travels incredibly rewarding but there have been some costs. One of the more expensive ones is being away from the energy at these Peak Potential sessions.

At the session, I witness some more amazing things. Alan and Evelyn have been in love for a while and I can see what each of them has done for the other. Life is often full of sacrifices and I have witnessed much selflessness. Alan has been dedicating a great deal of energy to learning Chinese. I understand the scale of this undertaking since I don’t understand much of Chinese (even having been raised with it…I’ve been scolded plenty of times in this language). Jen, one of the volunteers and high school students has taken on the role of teacher, guiding Alan a bit along his linguistic journey. Perhaps I can employ Jen (or Alan in a few months) to help me be less of an embarrassment to my relatives when I stop by Taiwan for a visit later on this year!

I also found myself in the City (for us, that’s New York City) today. I so rarely venture into the jungle. I don’t do so well with the crowds and congestion. There is a certain urgency everywhere (and the resultant loss of patience) and it is so easy to get sucked into the flow. I had a mission, though, and that was to exchange a lens port I had ordered for my underwater camera rig. The port was scratched and needed to be replaced ASAP (hopefully so I can capture clear photos of many sharks). B&H is an institution for photographers. They stock just about everything and manage to supply much of the World. For the convenience of their customers, they provide an hour of free parking (free is a word unheard of in the City except for when referring to a whooping and a kick in the ass) if you make a $100 purchase. So, after making my exchange, I set in to pick up a few things to “earn” my free parking. After a few minutes, I kissed much more than that $100 good-bye (but I got free parking!). Photography has been such a major investment not just in time and energy but in resources. They say that a good photographer can create wonderful works with any camera (I just don’t see too many pros doing a fashion shoot in Milan with a camera phone). It definitely helps to have good “brushes”. I’ve been very fortunate to have gear that far exceeds my abilities (it helps to not have any mouths other than my own to feed) and I hope to one day grow into it. Right now, I utilize my analytical/professional life to fuel the creative side. Perhaps one day, the two will meld for me. For now, I will keep good friendships with Mr. MasterCard and Ms. Visa. The day I get buddy-buddy with the Discover or the Diner’s Club family is when I know I’ve gone too far.