blog of Joe cz Liao

I am writing this on the last day of another year.

It has been a year cruelly short yet impossibly eventful.

This year began by returning to ‘home’ home in Hong Kong, after four years in LA and six months in Tanzania.

The year has allowed me to live off of money I made by doing the trades I simply enjoyed doing. Thanks to people’s recommendation and appreciation, I was given a great share of opportunities.

The year has also taken me to many new places outside and in Hong Kong, where I thought I knew well. Every fresh piece of land I lay my foot upon gives me a sort of comfort that I am, literally, not stepping on the same ground.

The year has connected me with many friends old and new, whom are often inspiring and uplifting, and without whom to share my life would not be half as interesting.

The year has taught me many humbling lessons and helped steer my direction. I myself am very excited about this coming year.

Thanks to all of my family and friends who have cared about me even I might not have been able to tell you directly how much I care about you too. Thank you, if you are reading this, you know I am saying this to you.

Wish you a happy new year.

I settled upon the theme for my personal promotion design while I was on a plane ride about a month ago. From that point on, the business cards were printed and stamps were made in two days, the blog is now redesigned (and migrated), and I’m working full speed on my portfolio. Other stationaries to come.

First thing first,

(more…)

I was hoping to spend my Sunday afternoon, after the 4.3 hrs TOEFL in the morning, punching out my latest blog entry to update my friends and family about my recent idyllic life. Before I did that I tried to upload the latest pictures to my flickr page, and along the way, responded to a few emails, made a few facebook comments, skimmed through my twitter ‘correspondents’ updates, watched a video about China’s effort to fight pollution and a TED presentation. (btw, add me to your skype if you wish) At the end of all that, it was about 4am in the morning, and I needed to rest. I couldn’t help but, once again, exclaim how little time a day actually has.

My three months stay in Japan is close to half done. It is very likely that the second half will be twice as short as the first. If that is so, the next two thirds of my entire life will definitely share a similar phenomenon with my ephemeral stay in Osaka.

Being ‘Culture Day’, 2009.11.03 was a public holiday in Japan. I have decided to go to the Nagai Park (長居公園) close by to where we live with my brother and a few other friends and spend our afternoon there. The place was filled with people, mostly kids and parents, exhibiting an unaffected aura of enjoyment. We brought our guitar along, and did some singing, chatting, eating… and that was about it. All was wonderful.

See more pictures at my flickr.

(more…)

Stephen Greenwood left the place about 30 hours ago. This place is quiet without his itunes library.

He has been a close friend, a colleague, a peer. His influence on me has been noticeable. I wish he had a good and inspiring time here.

As for myself, the to-do list is never ending. It’s been months since I last finished every item I listed for any single day. Like Mary said, we’re only paying back the interest…. and I am not even at that stage yet.

Leaving for Japan in 12 days, staying there for 3 months. I shall speak the language, and likely meet some people.

Applying to Architecture school. Preparing for the GRE. Then, look for a Design office to work at, Shanghai maybe?

Want to sing out loud something in the public, but muffled by shyness. Still waiting for that someone to come out inside me.

Want to finish the film. Want to pour my hearts and brains and sweats into it, and show it to people. Want to make it my work that concludes, for now at least, my endeavor in films.

Should travel on foot, with a backpack and a pocket knife. How do one gather mass while rolling? Has technology made this possible yet?

The stars were glimmering among the mist rising from the hot tub that was sitting in the snowfield, while Vivien and her company were relaxing, after a fulfilling day of skiing the Tahoe slopes. Their glasses of wine were chilled by the air, and laughters overheard by the houses around. It was an experience.
(more…)

Back in Kathmandu*, where air is so thick that (stealing from my father) “we need to push them aside to make way”, we are slowly following through the falling action of our journey, after we did what we came for – reaching the Everest Base Camp (EBC, 5,360M) and also Kala Pathan (5,545M) – the peak which is often used as the spot for panoramas of the Himalayan giants (You’re likely to have seen one).

Unlike the Uhuru Peak of Kilimanjaro (5,896M) which York and I summited last March, the “Base Camp” as our goal was quite an anti-climax to a hiking trip, albeit a very reasonable one. Frankly, it was by no means easy for me, I had my share of headaches and short breathes, and that 2 kilometers stretch of rocky road between our campsite and the EBC took us more than two hours each way. After 9 days of trekking, starting from some 3,000M up to our highest point, we had not even ascended half way up to the Everest (8,848M) – the top of the world. It was humbling, and it was a fact. Kala Pathan was the peak we deserve, after some effort. It was the peak from which we, struggling to stand straight in the unforgiving wind, admired the greater peaks at a distance.
(more…)

I take my word back about not being able to be reached while in the mountains…

We are currently at a village named Namche, deep in the Himalayas, and apparently there are bakeries, mountain gear shops (like 30 of them) and, so far I have spotted, four internet cafes. I am now making this post from the Buddha Communication Center. Of course, this is also my highest update to date. Let’s see if we get internet connect higher still, in the days to come.

Have I mentioned that the internet speed here is about as fast as the broadband I have at home? Ridiculous.

I think I am having slight headaches already, very mild though. I am going to buy some Pringles – baked potatoes flavor – which I suspect might help ease the pain :-)

For the 24th time, I grew older in numbers.

It was not to be a big deal at all, but it was. It was an excuse for me to gather up my friends from different sectors throughout my life – only had I spent more time inviting people, I’d have gotten a still much broader range of people. It was a day of reflection for all the years, places, episodes that I’ve been through, and all the friends that have treated me so kindly, and accepted my arrogance and spoiled behaviors.

Thank you, all of you, for being part of my life and part of me. You have defined me and straightened me whenever I were to crook.

——————————————-

Whenever people tell me “Ah, you’re so young, many years to come”, I would think “Yea right, you probably don’t know what you did all these years. You wish you knew what you were doing.”

So this is it, my birthday wish, in brief: to know what I am doing :-)

條件反射這個名詞我是初中年代認識的：同班有某同學每逢中文課就要上厠所，一次老師忍不住要問他為甚麼總要在她課堂上厠所，是不是欺她比較仁慈。同學答：「非也，這是自小的問題，中文課總是要去小解，是一條件反射。」

我也有一個條件反射分享：

當年十三四歲從圖書館借了教造網頁的書，看了一個通宵，又造了一個通宵。夜闌人靜，腹中有悶，到七十一買了一包華園候柱齎燒鵝，整晚吃的津津有味。自此，每逢要造網頁，便想吃齎燒鵝了。

“Make a plan that’s doable step-by-step from where you are but still gets you paid. That’s what brought me from MBA to China and now looking for work. It’ll work.

—Brian Eng