via Pink Wallpaper

I am going traveling soon, a brief vacation at the happiest-place-on-the-earth with the best-boy-in-the world! Pack my toothbrush, throw on a light sweater -- off we go! Counting down to next Monday. =)

Sisters

via la la lovely

Reminds me of sitting beside my sister in a China tour bus, looking out at the expense of countryside in the blistering summer heat. We told ourselves we wouldn't forget, but even now I have trouble remembering what the promise was all about. Perhaps one of those larger-than-life lessons -- to remember how fortunate we are?

Wise child

"Today, I asked my 6 year old son what he wants to be when he grows up. He said, 'Mommy, all I want to be is happy.'" MMT

Makes me think -- MMT -- Today's Thought Provoking Life Stories

Makes me think

"Today in downtown San Diego, I watched a blue collar Mexican man get harassed for being Mexican. It was a blatant act of discrimination. And the man actually began crying. As he left the office building, he took off his jacket. His t-shirt underneath read, "I love the USA!" MMT

Makes me think -- MMT -- Today's Thought Provoking Life Stories

Life Stories

"Today, I ran into a guy I used to tease and pick on in high school. I ran into him at a job interview. He was the interviewer. MMT"

-MMT --Makes me think -- Today's Thought-Provoking Life Stories

A kiss

"A kiss is a rosy dot over the ‘i’ of loving."

- Cyrano De Bergerac

The trick

The trick is to keep singing, keep singing, even when the sky is overcast and Berkeley seems trapped in an everlasting winter. My room welcomed me back this morning with the scent of faded roses and my pink comforter and all my lovely books awaiting me. =) It makes me so happy in a quiet kind of way!

I really like the sound of violins, airy and light and yet so piercing that my each melody strikes deep within me. A beautiful ache. =)

Sweet picture =)

(via kari-shma)

Building

I helped my father construct a brick pavement this afternoon, and in the cool summer breeze I realized how much I enjoy these father-daughter bonding experiences. I like using my hands and running my fingers through the sand. I like the weight of each brick in my hands -- it feels so solid and real. I like the sound of water gushing through the water hose and trickling out into the open, liberated. Water shouldn't be stuck in pipes; it should be running free beneath a deep blue sky and a glorious sun, exuberant and fresh!

And we have two friends living in our garden, two tiny brown mice which scutter through the weeds and the grass. I like them, but my parents certainly don't. =)

An empty envelope fell out of my book, and on it I had written a quote that made me feel thoughtful.

"The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of all men, and His compulsion is our liberation."
-Surprised by Joy

Surprised by Joy

I've been searching for C.S. Lewis's "Surprised by Joy" ever since I got home, and by chance I just spied it sitting beneath my bed. Something in me literally trembles with anticipation as I sit with the book on my lap. This memoir is one of my most beloved things to read. His imaginative spirit, love of the Romantic, pursuit of something called Joy, reflective and solitary spirit -- these are concepts that shook me powerfully and left a deep impression upon my teenage self. It is a book I can read over and over and over again, and each time glean new and heightened appreciation of his thoughts.

There are so many lines that just struck me. It was the first time I had underlined passages in a book. These are a few:

"I am a product of long corridors, empty sunlight rooms, upstairs indoor silences, attics explored in solitute, distant noises of gurgling cisterns and pipes, and the noise of wind under the tiles. Also, of endless books."

"Children suffer not (I think) less than their elders, but differently".

"As long as I live my imagination of Paradise will retain something of my brother's toy garden."

There is beauty in his words, and an aching yearning. I am so happy I found this book and will carry it with me back to Berkeley!

It's true

(via Kari-shma)

I like

I like waking up in the middle of the night and then burrowing deeper into my warm blankets with the comforting knowledge that a few more hours of sleep lie ahead. It's one of the best feelings in the world!

I like the dream-like moment between sleep and consciousness, the sensation of hovering between two different worlds, weightless.

I like playing music in the morning and and sipping green tea and planning which books to read.

I like old diaries and thoughts suspended in time.

Simple pleasures are such luxuries!