Last post in MN Bye Bye Carlson

Today 11:23 am we will take NW airline back to Taiwan. It's also the first time I know that sun rises around 5 am in the morning. After throwing out our last trash, we took a walk to Carlson as our last visit during these two years. It's hard to describe my feeling now, a little bit sad, not much exciting, just strange and weired. All the stuff used to fill a two bed room now become only 10 luggage. I think this is exactly what life is all about. You might not be able to keep a lot of things, but memories are with you forever. Thanks to all the friends we met in Carlson, in MN, in Midwest, and in US. Keep in touch and all the best for the new beginning.



email kambric@gmail.com

MSN kambric@sinamail.com (not my current email account)



今天七月二十是我們在美國的最後一天 早上十一點二十三分的班機飛回台灣

直到早上六點才完成最後的清掃工作及打包 好不容易把每箱都調整成五十磅左右

等著到機場看櫃檯人員是否願意高抬貴手免罰款放行

最後的幾天也陸陸續續有朋友來道別送行 當時心理並未有特別的感覺

直到最後看到所有的家當變成大小不等的十個行李

一絲的惆悵才向眼眶浮上



兩年前的戰戰兢兢 到現在的如魚得水

其中感想 如人飲水 冷暖自知

再來又得調整作息 面對新的階段

回想過去

在台灣海峽另一端過了一年多

在太平洋彼岸的中西部又度過兩年

下一步?

只能好好擁抱變化向前

Shipping

July 11, we shipped out all the boxes to Taiwan. There are total 13 boxes, 37 cube ft, total weight 556 lb. Shipping fee is $257. We just need to drop our boxes in North St Paul, and then we could pick up in TW. Fortunately, Honda Element can hold all those boxes so that we don't need to rent a U haul truck.


Almost block the hallway....


2 years for 10 boxes only la....Varisa you still wins.....


Honda Element is a good car...

My last July 4th in US

人在美國最後一個美國國慶日在方向盤後面度過
早上十點從伊利諾香檳出發
下午六點到達明尼蘇達
因為是July 4th sale的最後一天 就直接殺去outlet看看還有沒有什麼便宜可撿
最後到機場還完車回到家是晚上十點 國慶煙火剛好放完結束
=============================================
去香檳的目的是參加一個婚禮
跟新郎從國中就認識
同個高中
同個大學

印象中他的豐功偉業
全班最高就不用說了(起碼國中時如此)
高中聯考台中考區第三高分
高二跳級到台大資管也早一年脫下藍色制服
兩度從公館走到烏來思索人生的意義
GMAT 760
與網友步上紅毯
==============================================
為了避免越俎代庖 我只挑選一些照片以投影片的方式透露一下兩天的過程
主要的版本還是等新人來處理

七月一號是婚禮派對
二號一早去拿花 校園照相 法院公證 親友接捧花 最後辦理結婚證書

沒能參加的就敬請期待十二月台灣的部分囉!



The following photo link is to Bride and Groom's verson
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9826087@N06/sets/72157600704832012/

Car sold

We bought a car in Feb. It's a Toyota Corolla 2002 CE. Two problem for that car, one is high mileage, which was 108000 Mi, the other one is salvage title. Bought in price was $6K, and sold at $4K today.(June 26) The purpose of car was for my part time job during the last semester in Polaroid. Life becomes more convenient to drive a your own car living in MN. Maybe we should get one earlier so that we could go to more places.

賣掉生平第一台自己名下的車子 說實話也沒什麼感覺 因為當初決定的因素只是因為買比租更划算 尤其是在保險費上面 跟租車公司租車 Damage Waiver一天就要十幾塊錢 DW負責所有車子的損壞 套句我表弟的話撞到車子只剩下一個輪子也不用賠 去年暑假的intern花再租車上的開銷就三千多 等於把薪水貢獻在車上 開去上班心酸的 何況在MN生活 雖然大眾運輸系統尚可 但仍不比紐約 芝加哥 波士頓 洛杉磯等大城市 很多地方沒車的話還是到不了 加上還失去了時間上的彈性與自主性

在美國的兩年內 我應該是把下半輩子開車的哩程數都用光了 去年春假跟明天要再開一千五百英里去伊利諾香檳 之後去了密西西比河源頭 去年暑假從猶他州鹽湖城開到大提頓跟黃石公園 今年去了冰河國家公園 上星期去的南達克達州 還前前後後去了Duluth三次 總計拿到一張超速罰單

North Shore MN & MI 6/20~23

Our second last road trip destination is North Shore of Minnesota. The reason for this decision was that flying ticket to anywhere else is too expensive and we had already gone to all famous popular places nearby. Since last time we went to Duluth but only to Split Rock, this time we could go all the way until Canada border.
This is also the first time and the last time that we drive our own car to travel. In order to save money, this time we still do camping and it is our last time doing so.
6/20 First stop by Duluth. We drive to Cascade state park to secure our campsite for three days and also found information about biking and canoeing. Before sunset, we took a trail to lookout mountain in the park.







6/21 We planned to ride bikes and canoe all in one day. However, after canoeing, we found that is impossible. It took us almost 30 minutes to find where the canoe was. We needed to put the canoe into water by ourselves and no other groups of people doing the same thing that morning. It was a little scary to being alone on the river.



In the afternoon, we went to Grand Marais and ate the World's Best Donut. It was really chilly even though the sunshine was still strong.

6/22 We spent our whole day in Michigan because we went to Isle Royale National Park, which is the biggest island in the Superior Lake. The only transporation from MN is Voyageur II boat. The weather was not good during our way to Isle Royale and we did not see the sunk boat SS America. On the island, we took a loop trail but we did not see any live animal. However, we did see a dead moose skeleton lying by the trail. It died in April because of wolf attack. On the way back to MN, we passed the light house. So now we have gone to Michigan.





6/23 We headed home directly and wondered that we might not be back to Duluth in 10 years.
More photo here: http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/kambric/NorthShore2007_06_2023

MAMMA MIA

6/14 We went to Orpheum Theatre to see MAMMA MIA. One hour before the show, we could get student discount ticket priced at only $20 per person. The story is about a daughter trying to find her dad before her wedding from her mother's three lovers. And the whole show is based on ABBA's songs including Dancing Queen.

It is beyond my expectation and we bought the album the next day.

Intro of the show is in the following link
http://www.mamma-mia.com/default.asp

Thought?
Keep your relationship simple will save you and your children so much trouble.

South Dakota 6/8~6/11

We headed to South Dakota with Adam this weekend. The trip was total 1,670 miles.
Photo here: http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/kambric/SouthDakota2007_06_0811

回家前一個月左右 趕緊去一趟就在MN隔壁的南達克達州 裡面最著名的景點就是有四個美國總統頭像Mt Rushmore 該景點位在Rapid City 好死不死在最西邊 我們必須橫越整個杳無人煙南達克達州 經過東邊第一大城Sioux Falls時竟然渾然不覺 因為公路旁一點繁榮的景象都沒有 第一天就在趕路中度過 只有停在Badlands 國家公園中 稍微走了一下 看看奇特的地形與一些動物 晚上住進旅館後 在附近的Fridays餐廳吃個晚餐後就早早休息了

Badlands entrance

First day(6/8)was a 600 miles drive from MN to Rapid City, SD. We stopped by Badlands national park in the middle of the driving.

6/9 Of course we visited Mt Rushmore first. Parking fee for Mt R is annual base so that we could go back again in the evening to see the light show later.
In the afternoon, we went to Crazy Horse to see the uncomplete work. Afterward, we went to Wind Cave for a one hour underground trip. We found that there is a four hour long caving tour, participants may have to crawl in a 10 inches high hole for a long time. The natural entrance of the Wind Cave is only a hat size big hole.
We went thru custer state park and saw some deers, coyote, prairie dogs, and buffalos. Finally, we saw the light show at Mt Rushmore as the end.
整個南達克達州景點的精華真的只有在Rapid City南邊 除了總統山之外 我們先去看還在進行中的瘋馬雕像 現在雕像的臉部已經完成 負責建造的是一個私人的基金會 基於創辦人的信念兩次拒絕政府幾百萬的補助 雕像及其他設施的建設全部仰賴私人的捐贈 除了巨大的瘋馬雕像外 還要有印地安人的文化中心 大學等等設施 瘋馬雕像光是頭部的部分就已經比四個總統頭加起來還大 我們再花了四塊坐車到山腳下看看這巨大的雕像 真的相當驚人 只是懷疑還要多久才能真正結束


Mt Rushmore


Crazy Horse

之後我們還去了Wind Cave參加了一小時二十分左右的洞穴導覽解說行程 整個Wind Cave有四條路線 看遊客到達的時間做分配 每條路線都會看到box structure, popcorn structure等構造 目前整個洞穴的規模還在探勘中 目前已知就有一平方英哩的規模 後來我們才知道還有一個四小時的導覽 遊客需要戴上頭燈 護膝 護肘 在直徑大約十英吋的洞穴裡爬行 我們詢問的時候剛好還剩下三個空缺 不過因為明天是要去魔鬼塔 沒辦法趕上十二點半的tour只好抱憾離開(其實後來想想真要爬四小時的話應該會出人命才對...)


Wind Cave

最後經過custer 公園 看到一些野牛 鹿 趕在九點之前到Mt Rushmore看燈光秀 沒想到大失所望 三十分鐘的秀其實是把四位總統的功績說一遍 最後五分鐘才把白色的燈光打上總統們的臉上 沒有煙火 沒有音效 也沒有燈光顏色的變化.....當然可以理解這樣的安排啦 只是與期望有點落差






Group photo @Mt Rushmore

6/10 We just went to Devil's Tower for the day and saw NBA games in the afternoon.
離Rapid City 最近另一個全美聞名的景點是在懷俄明州的魔鬼塔 Devil's Tower. 大約兩個小時的車程到達魔鬼塔 有個環型步道大約需要一小時走完 我們還正好看到有不少人在攀岩 看完之後由於沒有別的行程 就回旅館附近的outback吃牛排 然後看NBA



6/11 We drove back to MN and went to see missile facility, Delta 09.
最後一天 起個大早 去位於90公路旁的飛彈基地參觀 其實並不是一般印象中有軍人的基地 而只是發射飛彈的發射井 裡面的飛彈也只是測試用的 現在該區域現在還是有一百五十幾顆戰略飛彈 而且全是靠空軍一號遙控發射 所以不需要有人在發射井裡面待命 每顆飛彈有一點二百萬噸炸藥的威力 最後在去了相關介紹的遊客中心之後 我們就一路向西重回文明的懷抱了


Minute Missile

Wausau, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Chicago (05/24 - 05/28)

5/24 we started our road trip to WI and IL. We left MN around 9:30AM. The first stop was Wausau, which is the largest place for American Ginseng.(花旗蔘) We met the owner and he arranged a field trip for us. We saw the ginseng farm amd also bought some fresh ginsengs.
Around 3 pm, we headed to Green Bay and had dinner in the old depot, which now is named of Titletown restaurant. It is famous for its own brewed root beer and, of course, beer.

第一天的行程是從Minneapolis(MN)出發，沿I-94向東轉29號公路至Wausau(WI)，參觀許氏人蔘農場後，再繼續沿著29號公路一路向東到Green Bay(WI)。Wausau並不是個旅遊景點，不過當地的土壤十分適合人蔘生長，據說花旗蔘最盛時期，Wausau當地有1600戶蔘農，不過也因為人參栽種不易，加上目前亞洲開始有花旗蔘農場在競爭，因此目前只剩下300戶左右。


許氏人蔘農場




選購新鮮人蔘 (0.5磅/$18)

5/25. We went to a wild life sanctuary at Green Bay, and also saw big boats at Lake Michigan. Around noon, we headed to Chicago. We stopped by Milwaukee and took Miller beer tour. Each one could have three free samples. Since I had to drive, I only took one. By going to directly to hotel, we went to Bahai Temple first. It said it is above all religions and its temple is really amazing. At that night, we had deep dish pizza at Gino's East.

第二天，我們先到Green Bay的野生動物保護區，天氣很好，一解前一天滂沱大雨哪也不能去的遺憾。看到灰狼和coyote，很多種鳥類和老鷹，還有一大群Canada Geese的親子組合。

Wildlife Sanctuary at Green Bay


Green Bay Harbor

中午從Green Bay沿43號公路向南開到Milwaukee，參觀Miller啤酒廠，Tour完全是免費的，結束後還提供每人一杯Miller Light和任選其他兩種啤酒的試喝 (Kambric因為要開車 認份地在任選兩種啤酒階段直接選了可樂....)


Miller旗下的12種啤酒品牌


Miller最早的標誌 : Girl on the Moon


Free Beer Time

結束Miller啤酒之旅後，繼續沿著I-94向南開往芝加哥。我們先去了芝加哥北郊的Baha'i Temple，中文好像是翻成大同教，建築很特別，全世界一共有七座，芝加哥的應該是北美唯一的一座吧。

5/26. Field museum was the first stop after we woke up. We spent around 4 hours and then needed to go back to hotel because Yvonne's parents had other appointments. Around 5 pm, we went to downtown again to have dinner with a NW law school graduate.

芝加哥第一天行程，參觀了Field Museum，(票價$12，學生票$7)，裡面有目前世界上保存最完整的暴龍化石--Sue，博物館真的真的很大，花了四個小時，我們只看了埃及館和地球演化史，有時間的話應該可以在裡面待很久...

晚上NW法學院學生宿舍參訪行程

5/27. Morton Arboretum in the morning and Millenium Park in the afternoon. Hot Dog in Portillo's as our dinner.


5/28. Driving back to MN directly. Started at 9:30 am and arrived at MN around 4pm.

More photo are in http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/kambric/WIChicago2007_05_2428

Glacier National Park Trip 5/15~5/20

Right after graduation ceremony, we went to Montana Glacier National Part for exciting "Camping", which is not a typical luxury travel plan.

We flew to FCA airport on 5/15, and then drove around one hour to west entrance of Glacier NP. The first night we camped at Apagar, which was the only available full service campsite of the Park. Since going-to-the-sun road was not fully open, from the west side, we could get to Avalanche only. The first afternoon, we went to Trail of Cedars, which is the only one forest hasn't caught fire for 500 years.

The next morning, 5/16. We made a not smart decision to take Huckleberry trail, which is a 6 miles trial to a lookout tower and marked as difficult level. It was full of bugs and only two of us walked on the trail. We did not make it because did not feel well to climb high in the first day. Afterward, we went to Fish creek picnic area to finalize the day.

On 5/17, we headed to east side of the park by taking the road at the south of the Park. Running eagle falls is in Two Medicine. Later, we went to the farthest point from the east, which was before Logan Pass. In the afternoon, we took our first shower in KOA for $5 per person. That night, we camped at St Mary primitive campsite.

5/18, we went to Many Glacier, which the ranger told us "it's the Park". We did see many animals there on the loop trail and magnificent glaciers. Afterward, we went all the way back to west side in Apagar.

5/19, we took the Avalanche Lake trail, which is an easy 2.3 miles trail. In the afternoon, we spent time in west glacier town and did some shopping and eating.

5/20, our flight was around noon, so we did not have much time to play. Just packing our stuff, eating at burger king, and heading back to MN.

Photo are in http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/kambric/GlacierNationalPark2007_05_1520

MBA Graduation

兩年的課程在今天告一段落 七點到St Paul把家長接到學校
八點開始集合整理
今年的典禮研究生和大學部分開 所以少了許多發呆的時間
整個場地也比較不擁擠
每個人都興奮的找同學照相
在也許是最後見面的這個場合

全部的流程也很簡單 集合之後 院長跟貴賓致詞 然後就是依照program一個個唱名上台領取替代的畢業證書 真正的畢業證書會在三四個月之後寄去家裡 然後典禮就結束了


集合中






穗上有個2007的標誌

照姓氏字母順序入場 舞台的設計如下 我們full time program安排在比較前面的位置

中間一個大大的校徽 兩旁是所有畢業生所屬國家的國旗掛在牆上


免不了大家最愛(反諷)的Dean致詞


Guest Speaker, Steve Forbes. "It is not important who you know, but whom you know." as the closing comment.


The moment I received certificate from the Dean. This photo was taken by a photographer who standed by the Dean.


We have to pay extra to buy this photo, and I made a plaque for this.


出禮堂合影 (鏡頭兩側有形變 加大臉寬....)


本屆MBA畢業生捐贈總額 會當成獎學金發給下下一屆一位美國學生跟一位國際學生


School

Most pictures are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/kambric/MBAGraduationDay2007_05_14