lobsters and clam chowder

we used to have a family tradition of driving up the coast to boston and maine every august to eat fresh lobsters and drink clam chowder. i remember before i could drive, i would sit in the backseat and listen to momi and dadi talk for the entire drive - 4 hours straight. boy, could they hold a conversation with each other. you would think they would run out of things to talk about, but they never did. now that i am older, i realize how rare it is for a couple who has been married for many many years to still have lots to talk about.

we would bring back live lobsters and i would play with them in the backseat on the way home (and then be horrified when we cooked them after we got home). i remember one time i filled our cooler with water because i thought it would be nicer for the lobsters to swim on our drive home. but when we got home, they were all dead because they drowned. (you're supposed to give them air to breathe or have oxygenated water), and then i felt really bad.

momi loved to eat lobsters but dadi wasn't big on seafood. but he loved these trips anyways.

a few funny memories

my parents always told me funny stories from when i was little. just thought of a few of them today:

1) one time, when i was just a little baby, my dad was in the driver's seat of our parked car, and my mom put me in the carseat in the backseat. she closed the door, but unbeknownst to my dad, she didn't get into the backseat with me. i guess he drove away, leaving my mom on the side of the road by mistake. it wasn't until a few blocks later that he realized my mom wasn't in the car (probably because she wasn't responding to his conversation). oops.

2) when i was 2-3 years old, my parents took me to vegas. of course, i tried to run into the casino but i wasn't allowed to. my mom was holding my hand and i yanked so hard to try to run into the casino that i twisted my arm or something. i guess i cried and cried and cried, but later on they took me to see some white tiger show and i started laughing and clapping, and that's how they knew i was just fine.

3) my dad used to travel a lot when i was young, and my mom and i used to talk on the phone with him a lot. i remember my mom giving me the phone to talk to dadi. one time, my mom was making dumplings in preparation for my dad to come home, and she left some uncooked ones on the dining table. somehow, i climbed up onto the table and decided to sit right on top of them, flattening all of them. i think my dad still ate them, though. :)

my eulogy for my dad's ceremony

my dad's farewell ceremony was held on December 26th, 2005. i gave a eulogy for him and here it is:

Thank you for being here today to celebrate my dad's life. He was a good man and lived a happy and meaningful life.

My dad was a kind man with a big heart. He once gave his coat to a waiter who was locked outside his restaurant in the cold New York weather.

My dad was a thoughtful man. He made sure my mom and I had breakfast to eat every morning. He remembered our birthdays every year.

My dad was a friendly man. He made new friends whereever he went - in stores, at the hospital, on the plane. I know he is so happy to see so many of his friends and family here today.

My dad was a passionate man. He loved to be involved in politics because he wanted to make sure the world was a better place.

My dad was a funny man. He made jokes all the time. I remember often laughing at the dinner table at the things he said.

My dad was a happy man. No matter what life had in store for him, he always saw the positive side of things. He enjoyed the simple things in life: traveling, eating his favorite foods, watching movies, and spending time with us.

My dad was a good father. He took care of me when I was little, even taking time off from work. I remeber him taking me to get my ears pierced. And he continued to be supportive of all the choices I made in my life.

My dad was a good husband. He always stopped to tell my mom how much he appreciated and loved her, and always helped her keep in touch with old friends.

My dad was a brave man. He's been through so many surgeries, needles and hospital stays, but always kept his positive outlook on life. He never acted sick like a patient when he didn't need to and rarely complained about any pain, even if it was there. No matter how serious his sickness was, he was always the one to reassure US that he was OK.

My dad was a wise man. He taught me that it's important to love and be loved, and that happiness in life is something you make for yourself. He gave me advice on all aspects of my life and I am who I am today largely due to his influence.

My dad is my hero and we will love him and miss him always. But I know that he will always be with us and love us always too.

袁老師與其家人，皆具保護自然環境與資源的理念，故不燒厚重木材及會造成污染的物質，火化後仍保持袁老師高純度的精髓元素。12/26日，火化後發現有舍利花和舍利子，舍利花由女兒收藏，舍利子由其妻收藏。(此文將放入Cheryl紀念爸爸的網站上。)

chinese history of my dad

my dad (and mom)'s school helped write a history of my dad in chinese. it's really well written, and we wanted to include it on this website. thank you to my parent's school for helping with everything. the students, teacher and adminstration have all been very supportive and wonderful.

袁士敬教授事略

袁副教授士敬，甘肅鎮原人，於民國三十四年十二月三日出生。父耀廷公，為青海省主席馬步芳之愛將，抗日期間，曾任青海省駐節重慶市之辦公室主任，勳業彪炳，功在黨國。母曾昭華女士，系出名門，賢淑有方，袁副教授手足共有十一人之眾，門丁浩繁，為人稱羨，但一家和睦，具為芝蘭玉樹。袁副教授幼承庭訓，品學兼優，於民國五十七年畢業於國立中興大學化學系，服役畢，即赴美深造，於六十一年獲美國紐約市立大學化學碩士，繼而於六十二年至六十五年間，為安可化學公司聘為高級化學工程師，後又服務於漢特學院擔任助理教授，六十七年獲紐約市立大學自然科學管理博士。求學期間，受家世之影響，雖身在異邦，但心繫祖國，時值台灣風雨飄搖之際，袁副教授不顧己身之安危，毅然投入留學生愛國之活動，因服務熱心，領導力強，榮任全美學聯會長，在美保釣之役中，亦任紐約市立大學博士班中國同學會會長。因學業傑出，表現優異，民國六十七年至七十一年為美國著名之默沙東大藥廠（Merck Sharp & Dohme and Co.）聘為製藥高級督導，打下生物科技產業應用之基礎，民國七十一年前後受服務桑梓之感召，曾回台傾力於教育事業，為輔仁及靜宜等大學聘為客座教授，彼時生技觀念漸受重視，衛生、環保、生物技術產業為世所重，袁副教授學有專長，為美國各製藥公司爭相敦聘。此後在美，大部分服務於著名製藥公司，百忙之餘，亦發表許多實務著作，逐漸蜚聲國際。民國八十四年，中國大陸與美國共同研發生技製藥，袁副教授聘為國際策略聯盟顧問，因常參加會議，旅途奔波，致使身體勞累，不幸罹患糖尿病，後為顧及身體，復返杏壇執教，並傳承其經驗予青年學子，於八十七年被明新技術學院聘為兼任副教授，二年後又被聘為專任副教授。

袁副教授待人誠懇，處事認真，教學尤其投入，深得學生愛戴，除此之外，極喜結交朋友，尤其對醫藥工業及生物技術具有使命感，在台期間，一度也曾為保生製藥公司延聘，深獲保生董事長之器重，並身兼中華民國責任照顧協會秘書長。明新技術學院後升格為科技大學，外國留華師生漸始，袁副教授因己曾為留學生，身知異地留學之苦，乃熱心服務，不時濟助，外國朋友至今多有感念者，又因熱情摯愛，故家居生活極為和諧，娶妻吳海萍女士，亦為化學博士，現亦執教於明新科技大學，彼二人在美留學期間，一度為同窗硯右，後於民國六十年結褵，夫妻恩愛鶼鰈情深，吳女士亦系出名門，其父乃黃埔陸軍官校畢業，著注功勳。生女積璇，秀外慧中，如今仍在美國法律研究所深造，因念其父腎臟衰竭，本擬於明年初捐一腎救父，孰料孝女心願未能達成，袁副教授遽於民國九十四年十二月五日下午八時七分，溘然病逝於楊梅怡仁醫院。嗚呼！天道無親，常與善人，袁副教授一生忠黨愛國，己溺溺人，為人處世惟公義是問，不拘世俗小節，學有專長，惜身體之故，未能盡展英華，實為國家社會之損失，如今哲人已渺，典型永存，唏噓之餘，謹致無上之哀痛。

明新科技大學袁士敬教授治喪委員會 敬輓

all the little things

my dad always liked to buy little things for other people whereever he went. of course he always bought things for me and my mom, like clothes (which we would sometimes wear and sometimes make fun of) and jewelry. he also bought books and cards and pictures, anything he thought we would like, he would buy. as a result, we collected a lot of random nicknacks from him.

but he also would do it for other people too - i remember when he came to the US, he always was looking for vitamins for his nurses. and one time we went on a hunt for a particular brand of sneakers for his students. and i also remember him collecting fortune cookie fortunes one summer so he could use them for his students as a classroom prop. so funny.

even my older cousin who is (i think) almost 40 now, told me the other day that she remembers him and my mom always having a little present for her and her brothers everytime they went to visit them when she was young. even after all these years, she still remembers this.

i'm glad i have lots of things to remember my dad by, and everyone else does too.

his pineapple shirt

my dad loved the hawaiian pineapple shirt that me and my fiance got him from hawaii. he definitely wore it a lot. i mean, all the time. he's wearing that shirt in half the pictures of i have of him in the past few years. he loved any shirts that i bought him, really.

pools and hot tubs

my dad loved to swim and use the hot tub. i remember him convincing my mom, who hates the water, to go with him into the hot tub in our california townhouse complex. she ended up loving the hot tub, of course. he loved to go between the pool and the hot tub, claiming that the change in temperature was good for him. i always have the funny image of him coming back from the pool with his towel and swim trunks, goggles in hand.

hiding my nintendo

i remember my dad hiding my nintendo when i was younger because he wanted me to do something other than play video games. but i also remember him bringing it back out after i begged him enough. which also reminds me of a time when he played mario party on my N64 and used up all the coins buying mini games.

mornings at my house

my dad always woke up many hours earlier than me and my mom. by the time my mom and i woke up, he always had fresh breakfast waiting for us on the dining table. if not, then my dad was ready to make breakfast for us. even after i left for school, my dad continued to buy breakfast for my mom every morning. i'm sure she really misses that...

zilla and him

he loved playing with zilla. i think he thought of zilla like a little grandchild. never really got mad at her, even when she pooped in the wrong places and tore up his newspaper. my dad never really got mad about little things like that. i wish he could come with me to walk zilla around the lagoon again...

the airplane crash

i remember him telling me the story of how he survived an airplane crash with his family when he was 3 years old. his family was escaping from china during the war, and was lucky to get on a plane because my grandpa was an official of some sort. his whole family was supposed to sit in regular seats, but moved down to the cargo area to allow money-printing machines that couldn't fit in cargo take their seats. so everyone else was sitting in the cabin, but him and his family sat in cargo.

after flying out of china, the plane needed to make an emergency landing in macau for some unknown reason. the pilot had to make an emergency landing without using the landing gear, and normally, that would mean that the cargo belly, where my dad and his family were, would be destroyed. but somehow the pilot messed up and flipped the plane upside down, so the entire cabin was destroyed and everyone died in the crash other than my dad and his family.

my dad says he remembers being covered in clothes and luggage and getting found by his mom after the crash. and then after they got out of the plane, a bunch of locals came over, but instead of helping them, they took all the valuables from the plane.

anyways, that's how my dad ended up going to school in macau for a few years of his youth. and that's the story of his plane crash survival.

EDIT: here are some corrections of the story from my mom -
Actually the airplane was supposed to go to Taiwan. but pilot got lost and almost used up gasoline. He asked HK's help, but the authorities wouldn't let him land, so he flew to somewhere else-finally on the top of an island called Hai-Na island. He decided to crash the tummy of theairplane for landing since there was no more gas. But somehow he hit some rocks and the whole plane went up side down. After 2 days' (with local people's rubbery) KMT went to rescue them and put them in HK hospital. Due to the serious hospitalization, Grandpa did not go back to China to fight with Communist. Dadi learned Cantonese in HK kindergarden before coming to Taiwan.

dinner at Balthazar's

i remember him treating me and my fiance to dinner at balthazar before he went back to taiwan in september of 2005. we went late on a weeknight with no reservations but luckily didn't have to wait long. he probably ordered a steak because he loves eating steak. i wish we could have more dinners like that one.