早晨起床，老婆说生日快乐。

我说，哦。心里想，已经28岁啰。

 

不过还是挺高兴的，手机里有家里人打来的语音留言；电子邮件信箱里有牛头夫妇发来的祝福；办公桌上还摆着朋友们送的礼物。

 

老婆今年送的礼物挺有意思。是Bruce Weber的一本照片集Branded Youth: and other stories. 主要是人像，除了一张照片，张张都很精彩。

I got up at 6:00 am, rushed to the lab., and started my trip to Ann Arbor at 8:00 am. An hour and half later, we've already on North 23, near Flint Rd., west of Columbus, Ohio.  Friends of mine live nearby, so I called them. No answer (They changed their phone number.).

Another one and half hours on the road in a very nice weather, we reached Bowling Green, Ohio, where we met another friend who is studying in the Bowling Green State University. Lunch and talk, it was short but wonderful. I suddenly realized that I have so many friends in the United States ( and around the world) but we did not actually contact each other very often. Busy? or just an excuse?

 

So we finally arrived. In my friend's new three story condo. A very nice place with a small balcony on the second floor. Sitting, talking and waiting for another friend of ours coming from Texas. We even played Ping Pong ball for a while. Later in the afternoon, the six of us, My wife and I, my friend in Ann Arbror and her husband, my friend from Texas and his friend from China, took a tour around Univ. of Michigan campus and Ann Arbor. It is a small but live town. You can see it at a glance. The night was a treat from the hosts. An interesting and delicious meal at La Shish, a restaurant serving Mediterranean and middle-eastern food. I liked the Lamb and the quail very much.

 

We talked till 1 am. Everybody was excited and didn't want to sleep. We cherished this short gathering. And yes, we were only staying for the night. The next day we went to Detroit. On the Belle Isle, we could see the GM building in Detroit downtown; a short walk in the windy day on the island was chilly but fun; and the orchids in the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory were nice. (http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/recreation/centers/M/belle_isle/belleM.htm) At noon, we dined at Benihana, a chain Japanese Restaurant. The chef cooked the food in front of you on an iron plate (teppanyaki). Then we parted, the Texas guy had a plan to catch and we were heading back home.

 

Again we were near my friends home near Columbus, this time we got the new phone number. How nice that my friend is going to have a baby this year. It is the age, then, I can't imagine how fast time past by.

 

Driving home at night, on the road, in the woods. I was experiencing the same feeling again. It was dark everywhere, just like the darkness engulfed our car. I could only see the road in front of me, but I was confident at this time. because I was familiar with the way I was going. I know how long I needed to drive and where I was heading. Driving on a unfamiliar road in the dark is always more difficult, I know. I just need to trust myself and carry on. I'll get there, period.

 

The Gospel of Judas was recently restored and translated. According to the document, Judas, instead of being a traitor, did what he was told to do. If this is true, Jesus Christ might be one of the earliest PR experts on earth. Wow!

I revisited my photo morgue, found some photos that I then thought bad but now thought fine.

 

Check my photos, there's an album called "Rediscoveries".