This moment is special as it can not be duplicated - the light, the atmosphere, the instantaneous thoughts and
 emotion going through my mind.

This photo was taken on my birthday in 2006. I started off my own birthday celebration with a nice walk in the
 morning while the whole city was asleep; I then had lunch in the tinniest restaurant I could find in the Chin
atown, with just five tables. I ate there the night before and it really reminded me of my mother's cooking. T
he woman who served me sounded so much like my grandmother.  

"Today is my birthday and this is the closest I can get to my home and family."  My past years were going thro
ugh my mind as a home made movie - I  was really really loved as a child... and it appears the only way to rep
ay them is to live my life the fullest.  I left all the cash I had on me as tip. 

After dinner, I walked to the waterfront hoping to catch the perfect light for a photo. It is now indexed in m
y memory, and  if someday in the future I wonder what I was doing and thinking on my birthday in 2006, I will 
know exactly the answer,  just by looking at this photo. 

America for the most part is a DIY (as Do-It-Yourself) society. I do not really believe in 缘, as I have yet t
o locate a suitable English word to describe it.  On the other hand, I believe life is a creation of efforts, 
as witnessed by this photo - beauties are out there. And I believe in Chemistry because  my inner reaction ale
rts as the moment arises and I know it is a fact. 

On any given day, I prefer facts over fictions and or assumptions!