I went to a church service last night. I found the service a bit unsatisfying, as it was mostly in Chinese, making the service more of a language exercise than a spiritual one. I couldn't remember the lyrics to "Doxology" (yes, I haven't been to church in awhile), "Joy to the World," and "O Little Town of Bethlehem," so I followed along in the Chinese hymnal and sang the occasional word that I could read. The one song that they did have the English lyrics to, "O Holy Night," ended up being a solo. Fortunately, the sermon was in English, and from the Chinese translation, I learned a new word, zhi hui, which means wisdom. Lessons from the sermon: wisdom is absent when there is pride, as wisdom comes with humility. And Henry David Thoreau once said, "it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things."

Warm and fuzzy birthday wishes to Melissa and TC!

And for the rest of my faithful readers, here's a small gift to you. Remember to turn on the speakers or pop in the headphones, if you have a sound card, because the card is much better with the music. This card is not just any generic corporate electronic greeting card, because it was MY project at work, and I came up with the concept, picked a vendor, worked with the vendor in creating the card, and then coordinated the infrastructure implementation and execution. Next year, I'm starting the ecard project in September, I swear.

Yesterday in a conversation with friends I was presented with an idea I had never considered before: by decreeing martial law, a government instantly takes away its authority in the eyes of the people.

The effects of being under the rule of martial law longer than any other nation in history continues to be felt today, as the Taiwanese develop their political culture and grapple with the question of their place in the world.

I realize a ridiculously long time has passed since I made a post, but I have been quite busy at work, the results of which I hope to be able to post here soon. In any case, I had a lovely Thanksgiving Dinner. Jen and I organized a dinner party the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend at United Mix. The kind folks at United Mix put us in their private dining room in the basement, so our meal there was almost like having a home-cooked meal at home. And, I mustn't forget the sparkling presence of Joaquin and Mate, without whom the rest of us wouldn't have argued over which practice was Thanksgiving tradition based upon the different parts of the U.S. we lived in.