My Zen Moment

Finally, the rain stopped. I miss the rain already. It has been raining for so long and so heavy lately. But, I enjoyed it, because the heavy rain not only helps the drought situation, it also washes streets very clean — especially it gets rid of those dog shit left over by some irresponsible dog owners. However, the season is indeed changing. Even the Day Light Saving Time will start this coming weekend! Too fast. That means this raining season is over. I am not sure if yesterday’s rain will be the last rain till next winter. Until then, I will just have to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, and fog, when I get up in the morning. Then I will get myself some breakfast. Although I really should eat some bigger breakfast in the morning, for some reason, I just don’t have any appetite when I get up. The only thing I can have is some smoothie I make in the morning. I don’t feel very energetic lately even I have been eating healthy and going to the gym everyday. Sometimes I even feel dizzy when I look at my computer screen. My body might be telling me that I should stay away from the computer a little bit longer. So I went to the corner store bought myself $1 lottery ticket. Even all the banks are collapsing, the lottery money is so real, and it’s not from any bailout money. So, let me win! I need to be stimulated! Actually my dizziness might be because I think too much. I need some meditation and clean my thoughts. That doesn’t mean that I am admitting that I have many dirty thoughts. Therefore, when I heard a program about "Japanese Tea and Zen" led by the Urasenke Foundation San Francisco and San Francisco Zen Center, I decided to check it out last evening. The program was very interesting, informative, and enlightening. I learned a lot about Urasenke Tradition of Tea. I would never imagine that there are so many "how to" in the tea making, serving, and drinking. It’s fascinating and delightful to see how the tea masters turn tea making into a form of art. One must need many years of training in order to fold napkins impeccably and to operate the utensils with the maximum precision as if they are making a computer chip. It’s an eye opening experience and I feel like a criminal now when I drop a tea bag in my mug at work. Oh, the green tea tastes great! http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf That was my wonderful Zen moment. On my way to the event, I passed a Chinese food joint. I was shocked when I see the menu on the window: 肉燥面. It’s supposed to be 肉炒饭, which means "stir fried rice with meat." However, what’s on the menu means "meat parches rice." Actually the reason I was amused when I first glanced the menu is because I read it as "肉操饭," which literally means "meat fucks rice," or "meat fucks noodle" which ever the customers prefer — I hurried up and went to the Zen session to clear my mind. Actually, I was almost late. In other news. I am so happy to find a new political commentary columnist to help me digest the daily bad news a little better — Melissa Griffin who writes for The Examiner. She has a sharp tongue that definitely can "Break Political News into Pieces." She is witty, funny, and insightful. Did I mention that she is funny? I fully understand that today’s court hearing about the notorious Proposition 8 is a very serious subject matter. However, when I was reading her today’s column, "Proposition 8 is before the judges – here’s what you need to know," I was giggling so hard that I almost fell off the elliptical machine in the gym. Oh, I was also giggling when I was reading her quirky poem about "federal dough." Brilliant! What else? Oh, I also laughed when I heard this story: this idiot thinks "this is an emergency" when she calls 911 because she can’t get her chicken McNuggets at a McDonald’s restaurant. Is there anything else more bizarre than that? Apparently, yes! Jacko will sing again.