December 28, 2011

This one is all about Asian connections.

It began at Bellaken Garden, a skilled nursing care facility in East Oakland, where my mother, Connie, has been staying since August. I’ve been visiting there twice a week, crossing the Bay Bridge from San Francisco and popping in with potstickers from a nearby takeout restaurant.

For months, I’d seen this thin, white-haired woman seated in the lobby area, across from one of the dining rooms. After a while, we’d exchange smiles and hellos. I’d noticed her mainly because she always had a transistor radio with her. Being a radio columnist and occasional DJ, I asked what she was listening to. “Baseball,” she said. She was an avid San Francisco Giants fan, kept notes on their games, and kept their radio schedule close to her, all on a shelf of her walker. Her son, Jonathan, I would learn, works as a concessions cashier for both the Giants and the 49ers, so she was a football fan, too. We could talk.

I decided to do a little shout-out to her in my Radio Waves column in the San Francisco Chronicle, learned her name – June Kwei – and told her to watch for the mention. She appeared delighted, although I never properly introduced myself. Bad manners. (In Cantonese, “bad” is pronounced “kwei.”) Anyway, on December 11, the item ran, ending with “Holiday cheers to June Kwei.”

That evening, I received an email from a “Dede.” It was Mrs. Kwei’s daughter. I couldn’t believe it. Here’s most...

Twelve interns explore their roots and share their extraordinary personal journeys in a book and a public exhibition now on view through March 15 at the Chinese Culture Cemter of San Francisco.

Photographer and cultural expert Frank Jang captured images of the March 1 reception celebrating the debut of the "Book of Roots: Essays and Stories."

The twelve contributors and team leaders journeyed through San Francisco’s Chinatown, the National Archives, and the homes of their ancestral villages in China including the Pearl River Delta region of the Guangdong Province of China, and through the counties and municipalities of Guangzhou, Foshan, Doumen, Xinhui, Kaiping, and Taishan.

The Book of Roots Essays & Stories is now available to order through the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco. This book includes the Roots Route Map, the essays by the interns and their trip leader, photographs, media coverages as well as the family trees created by each intern.

The twelve interns for the 2007 program are Theresa Chan, Derek Emmons, Jasn Jay, Frank Lee, Alan Liu. Sondra Morishima, Byron Chun, Nicole Hsiang, Michael Kwan, Kristina Lim, Annie Ly, and Trisha Quan.

Related:

Chinese Culture Center of SF Official Website
A personal blogger shares her visit to the exhibition

Photographer and cultural expert Frank Jang captured this group portrait of the young contributors and their team leaders at the March 1 reception celebrating the cultural exhibition In Search of Roots &...

Feeling Stressed, and Wanting More Time? By Marilyn Tam 

“How did it get so late so soon?” - Dr. Seuss “It’s November already, where did the year go?”

“The holidays are coming, and I’m still caught up in projects that I started months ago.” “Get all my work done? If I had 48 hours in a day I may get caught up in another year. Do you relate? Occasionally or more often, everyone has felt that time was rushing by, carrying with it our chances to finish what we began, say sorry, or redo something that we wish we hadn’t done.

When the days are so packed with demands, both assigned and self-imposed, we have a tendency to live in a constant mad rush. Many of us multi-task and juggle urgent projects daily, careening through life with little time to ask why and what are we really doing. Later, sometimes too late, we realize that in our scramble through life, we have neglected what was truly meaningful to us.

I’ve been there and more than a few times; living like that is an unsustainable and unhappy way to live. If you are feeling too stressed with what seems like an endless to do list, slow down. Take a deep breath, and then take another one, and then say, “What would happen if I didn’t do this task at this very moment?  What is really most important?  What is the truth here for me? Pull yourself back enough to get distance and perspective. Listen to the voice of your inner wisdom. The right answer to what you...

Five Secrets to a Happy, Healthy & Successful Life  By Marilyn Tam

You make well-meaning resolutions to improve your life. But your resolutions fade under the stress of multiple demands on your time and attention. Oftentimes the resolutions are history before the month is done. How can we ensure that we actually benefit from the good intentions that we made with such conviction?

Many years ago I made an earnest resolution to work less and to spend more time on my personal life, family and health.

Being a type A personality, it was easier to say that than to follow through. By late in the same month, as I am running through another airport, I realized that I am already back to my old pattern of working seven days a week.

On the next plane ride I took the time to ask myself a few hard questions. From that experience I developed these Five Guidelines to have a Happier, Healthier and more Successful Life. Isn't that what we are ultimately after?

1. Make resolutions that you can manage. Specify your desired end result and make the goals measureable. For example, instead of saying that you want to lose weight, give yourself a specific time frame for a number of pounds or inches broken down into smaller pieces so that you have incremental targets to meet. Make the objectives a slight stretch but achievable. You are more likely to continue once you see positive progress towards your ultimate goal.

Limit the number of resolutions. Your mind can only deal with so many...