An Epiphany of Sorts

It’s been a while since my last update, with quite a few things happening in between. Most noticeably is the Chinese New Year, which took place on January 28th (that being New Year’s eve) and the New Year itself, on January 29th. We, as in Kevin and I didn’t celebrate much, but we did go back to Kalamazoo to see friends and family and to reminisce about the time we spent there.

We left Saturday in the early afternoon and arrived in Kalamazoo just in time to meet Aunt Jane-Jane at Stir Max restaurant, which would be the “host” for this year’s New Year “feast”. Previous years there were different incarnations of how dinner was served, with the first year (2003) being okay and the second one a bit disappointing. I guess when the event grew as much as it has, things need to change for the better, and this year was in my opinion, a marked improvement.

While there, we chatted about things, and since it seemed like nearly the entire Chinese community was there, Kevin and I saw quite a few familiar faces. There was Barry and his wife, Cai Jing from econ, not to mention, Aunt Lee, Hsin-Hsin and Min-Min; Prof. Liu, Prof. Tarn and family, Prof. Hung, Prof Zhou and many others. Kevin also saw Frank’s dad and Hyden’s mom and his buddy, Hyden himself. Hyden mentioned that he might come to East Lansing to visit, to check out the business school and its related residential college.

After the “luner”, Aunt Jane-Jane took the kids home to get ready for the performance that evening. As for Kevin and I, we drove around town. We drove to the place we rented for a year or so, to Kevin’s high school, and to West Lake to see what it’s like this time of the year, and if it has changed much since our absence.

It was a trip down memory lane, seeing all the familiar sights, and commenting on what transpired while we were there. I saw many things that remained the same, like the red-barn townhouse and the parks we frequented; but there were also changes, such as new shops being erected while old ones came down and roads that were updated and improved. I was hit with a sense of nostalgia, both of place and time.

We then went to Aunt Jane-Jane’s and shared some talk while the kids played and got ready for their respective performances. Ian would be showing off his skills with the Chinese yo-yo while Elaine remained quite secretive about her role for the evening. When it was about time, we left for Loy Norrix high school where the event would take place. Just before we left, Aunt Jane-Jane gave me and Kevin some small fish they have bred to keep, just for funs sake.

This year’s celebration was bigger and more “sophisticated” than last year’s, if that’s the fair way of reporting; after all, quite a few distinguished guests came to attend. If I were not mistaken, the mayors of Kalamazoo and Portage both came.

I would say overall the program was okay, quite fun and entertaining at some parts, and a bit of a bore on others. There was also an “international co operation” in the sense that a native African dance troupe joined in the festivities with a very energetic dance number.

And with dance, there was song and dance, short dramas and show-off of tradition and martial arts, and then more song and dance. If I were to nitpick, I would think the most glaring deficiency that could be improved upon was the male announcer. To make a long story short, he could have done a much better job, or someone else could have done a much better job. Still, even with that fault, the celebration went off with rarely a hitch and I would surmise that most if not all, had a good time, especially the children who got the candy at the end.

We left almost immediately after the event, opting to go home early so that the drive wouldn’t be as tiring. We didn’t catch Aunt Jane-Jane toward the end, because of the bustling activity, but Kevin did manage to get backstage to meet up with his high school pals Frank and Hyden to exchange current contact information. After that we left and called Aunt-Jane-Jane to say goodbye. The journey back was quick and we made short work of the drive, or more like I did, since I was the one doing the driving.

That was it for the day; Kevin and I didn’t attend additional parties after we arrived back in East Lansing. To be honest, I was quite tired and immediately crashed into bed once we got in the door. It might have been the hectic afternoon, with the drive to and fro, but it could have also been the emotional drain, the good kind, that left me a bit tiresome.

After that weekend, things got back to normal, or at least as normal as things can be with three months or so before the prelims.

It was on the morning of Friday, January 20th, that I had an epiphany of sorts. It was during that time while I was waiting for the bus that it occurred to me; I could hear the sound of birds singing. Previously I never noticed, but somehow that morning, either it was because of the warmer weather that brought out the cheer and appreciation of nature in me, or that there was some kind of connection, I could hear them sing; and while I saw the little fluffy things hop from branch to branch and tree to tree, I knew what they sang.

They were singing for the morning, for spring, and that it is nice for the weather to be warm, with dew on the grass and trees, where leaves will grow and flowers will sprout. And that winter should be over soon, even though there might be the occasional cold spell.

Ever since, during the mornings when I stand at the bus stop waiting for the bus to show, I pause to listen and see. I listen for the sounds of the morning, those of nature and those of man. I hear the leaves rustle across the roads, and the sounds of pines swaying to the wind; I listen to the birds, the sparrows that flutter and chirp about and the geese that honk while traveling north. I see my own breath, misty from the chill, yet dissipating in an instance. I hear the bus coming from afar, making the turn and showing up, just like in “Do-Do-Ron”, only that it is during the bright of morning instead of the serenity of night. And then I feel a slight bid of dread, knowing that my enjoyment has once come to an end, and that I must wait for tomorrow.

While I listen and see, I also ponder. I envisage about the things I have to do for the day, things I have yet to finish, and of what tomorrow might hold. Now every morning at the bus stop is something I look forward to yet also fear, because it is the glimmer of peace and quiet that I can have before the rush of the day and the burdens of tomorrow take me from fantasy land, to reality land. Regardless, I enjoy the spiritual experience and hope that as time goes by and things get tight, I can still learn to appreciate the small things around me.