Journal Entries

Bon Journal

Reviewing the year

It's that time of the year again when we look back to see what we've achieved and what needs to be carried over.

I started this year in San Antonio visiting my high school friend Patty's immediate family. Her disappearance five Christmases ago remains a mystery to all but those closest to her. Sadly, it is still an unsolved case.

As far as travelling is concerned, it's been a year of "take it to the limit." Except for December, I've been in the air, on the rail tracks, or on the road. Had it not been for September 11th, I would have spent this month in transit also. Indeed, the remedy for my wanderlust turns out to be a concoction of overdoing the travelling, making my home too comfortable to leave, and the inconvenience air travel as a result of Sept 11th.

As far as music is concerned, suspending my composition in favour of performance has been worthwhile. Since my first home concert in March, the ideas for thematic performances have flooded in tirelessly. Already we're talking about a centennial birthday concert in 2003!

My father's visit this summer and our daily discussions helped improve my writing considerably.

I welcome three new friends to my world: Anna Lin in March, Alexander in July, and Daisy in September. Their parents are Dutch/Chinese, English/Russian, and English/Chinese.

It's been an action-packed year, especially the shocks in the last quarter. Who would have predicted that the Twin Towers would disappear from the earth? Who would have guessed that an energy giant would collapse?

In spite of all the well-laid plans I made, there have been many unexpected events. The biggest surprise came at the end of March. Luckily, it turned out to be the best surprise.

30 December 2001 Sunday

On this day, we made crepes to go with the caviar from St Petersburg

Ingredients for Russian crepes:

very cold water
plain white flour
eggs
a little sugar
a little salt