2014/05/03

畢業三十五週年同學會:台灣祕境【馬告公園】

【NTU MATH 1977 畢業三十五週年聯誼會】台灣祕境【馬告公園】一百神木群生態之旅


日期  2012/7/7 to 7/8聯絡人:林榮鎮、蔡光、劉興祥


已報名:劉興祥*4、鄭晃忠*4、黃振芳*3、江永進*2、陳朝欽*2、胡孝光*2、
           蕭美琪林榮鎮、孟繁經、施貴棠、蔡光、劉之舜、雷霽顏
           共 24 位。

活動細節:

7月7日 週六 第 1 天

台北 ~ 雪山隧道 ~ 丟丟銅廣場 ~ 蘭城新月市區觀光 ~ 陳家松園 ~ 鐵牛哩阿卡漫遊 ~ 八甲漁場美食料理   ~ 泰雅大橋 ~ 棲蘭國家森林遊樂區     夜宿 :棲蘭山
09:00 ~ 09:00 今日安排搭乘  43人座大型旅遊巴士接待貴賓。 
09:00 ~ 09:00 晨間集合後快快樂樂出發, 車經雪山隧道抵達蘭陽平原。
09:00 ~ 10:00 台北經雪山隧道與國道五號前往蘇澳
雪山隧道,原名坪林隧道,亦簡稱雪隧,是台灣最長的公路隧道,位在蔣渭水高速公路(國道五號,又稱北宜高速公路)臺北縣坪林至宜蘭縣頭城段之間。雪隧係由三座獨立的隧道組成:導坑、西行線及東行線,全長共 12.9 公里,於 2006年 6月 16日全線啟用。雪山隧道是亞洲第二長的公路隧道,同時,雪山隧道在世界的公路隧道中排行第五名。雪山隧道不僅有兩座主隧道,還包括中間的導坑。兩座主隧道中間,有 28座橫向的人行聯絡隧道,8 座車行聯絡道等等,大大小小長長短短共計 58組隧道,是全世界規模最大雙孔公路隧道群。
10:00 ~ 10:30 站前丟丟銅廣場
蘭陽多雨,這是一個能把宜蘭火車站變成最適合在雨中散步的車站。這個簡單構想,是由黃聲遠建築師用一座座高15公尺的仿九芎樹造型的綠色鋼樹表達出來,鋼樹上將罩起玻璃頂,四周再植滿真樹,將枝葉覆蓋上來,最後鋪上紅磚地,就能把出站的旅客直接送往對面熱鬧的城鎮中心,『丟丟銅廣場』,不但保留了宜蘭特色,又能讓外來旅客驚艷,幾個高大的綠色鋼樹矗立著,奇特的形狀,倒讓人誤以為這是裝置藝術呢。
10:30 ~ 10:40 蘭城新月車行市區觀光。
來到位於蘭城新月文化帶上的南門林園,也是宜蘭市區內,唯一保留完整日治時期的古老林園 。此處是以昔日縣長官邸、舊宜蘭監獄、紅磚牆等,結合而成,面積十分廣闊。南門林園內,有許多近百歲的老樹,有樟樹、榕樹、楓香及鳳凰木…等珍貴樹種,其樹幹棵棵高大無比,令人嘆為觀止。再談這些老建築結構上使用的建材,大都是檜木,在現代的建築裡已不易見,而宜蘭縣政府刻意將這些古建築保留下來,並且原地重新修建,目的是希望保留宜蘭的歷史空間,也創造了宜蘭人休閒的場所。蘭陽多雨,這是一個能把宜蘭火車站變成最適合在雨中散步的車站。這個簡單構想,是由黃聲遠建築師用一座座高15公尺的仿九芎樹造型的綠色鋼樹表達出來,鋼樹上將罩起玻璃頂,四周再植滿真樹,將枝葉覆蓋上來,最後鋪上紅磚地,就能把出站的旅客直接送往對面熱鬧的城鎮中心,『丟丟銅廣場』,不但保留了宜蘭特色,又能讓外來旅客驚艷,幾個高大的綠色鋼樹矗立著,奇特的形狀,倒讓人誤以為這是裝置藝術。宜蘭縣的古蹟之旅是以站前的歷史建築群為主題,沿紅磚屋、宜蘭行口、舊警察派出所、台鐵舊防空洞、旅遊中心、木工房、鐵工房、台鐵宿舍、丟丟噹廣場走一遭,悠閒回味來時路,在宜蘭火車站前熙來攘往的旅客人潮中,別有一番悠閒。
10:40 ~ 11:30 陳家松園陳氏鑑湖堂
隨後我們將參觀陳氏鑑湖堂〔陳家松園〕,這是全宜蘭縣規模最大的家廟,內設有登瀛書院,是族內子弟念書的地方,並有方斤勇石,是子弟們練武的舉重器材,這裡是陳姓宗族們的聚落中心,當時宜蘭知縣彭達孫及蕭贊延皆有送牌匾給他們,且清代設有家廟者,均屬當地望族。古厝於1982年重建為二進四廂紅牆大厝,有八大房百餘人口同住於此,昔日稱陳老師大厝,環繞古厝的有池塘、後院,其祖產面積達320餘甲。至此除可一睹陳氏家族的相關文物及環境的清幽外,還能飽覽田園風光,尤其陳家松園內的落羽松,氣根突出地面為一大奇觀。
11:30 ~ 13:00 內城社區「鐵牛哩阿卡漫遊活動」
隨後續往位於宜蘭縣員山鄉近山地帶的內城社區,內城是一個典型的農村,早期社區居民的生活都仰賴自然的資源,是社區耆老的集體記憶。內城社區良田阡陌、環境優美,青山蓊鬱、水源清澈、生態多樣,區內有太陽埤、渡船頭、水圳公園、三百齡老茄苳、槍櫃遺址、老教堂等景點,是縣內知名的休閒農業區。內城居民以務農為主,民風純樸,又擁有天然的地景之美,適合農村原鄉型式的「慢活」體驗。在此各位可自由選擇參與「鐵牛哩阿卡漫遊活動」
13:00 ~ 14:00 八甲漁場美食料理
中午時分前往員山鄉的八甲漁場享用午餐。這裡水質純淨,養殖的香魚和鱘龍魚,特別鮮美。在魚場周圍的特有生態中,整年都有上千隻白鷺鷥與夜鷺在附近棲息,構築了一處極為壯觀的鳥類棲息地。八甲漁場餐室的大廚所烹飪的美味香魚大餐,更為過往蘭陽一遊的旅者喜愛。
14:00 ~ 14:30 泰雅大橋
三星鄉九寮溪上的泰雅大橋,泰雅大橋是橫跨蘭陽溪,連結三星鄉和大同鄉二地的橋樑,靠近大同鄉的一側,採用泰雅人織布文化的圖騰,近三星鄉的另一側,則採用田間到處可看到的鳥雀造形為代表,營造出親切的農莊意象,符合務農為主的天送埤地景。應用泰雅弓箭造形特殊設計的燈柱,重複優美曲線的視野意象,是力與美的結合,入夜之後,造形獨特的路燈,猶如星夜金鍊,泛著黃色光澤,凝聚光影泰雅大橋之美,躍升宜蘭縣橋樑工程藝術代表佳作。除此之外,南方澳跨港大橋、葫蘆堵大橋、員山大橋…等橋樑,亦頗具地方特色。
14:30 ~ 16:00 風光明媚的棲蘭國家森林遊樂區
棲蘭位於宜蘭縣大同鄉,距宜蘭市和羅東鎮約38公里,扼通往太平山和梨山的咽喉之地。面對太平山山脈,地處蘭陽溪、多望溪及田古爾溪匯流處,河谷寬廣,景色天成。她還有特殊的森林浴步道、小卵石健康步道、櫻杏步道及梅桃步道,一路紅花綠葉,說不盡的鳥語花香,蟬鳴蟲叫,宛如天籟飄揚。遠眺青翠重嶺,萬巒綿延,深淺有致,潺潺綠水環繞,是最棒大自然的潑墨畫。
14:30 ~ 16:00 棲蘭淒美的愛情故事
棲蘭,如此美麗的名字,背後有著更為淒美的愛情故事;傳說以前,這裡住著一對相愛的泰雅族年輕情侶,有天男孩出去打獵,不慎被同伴的箭射死,女孩得知這個訊息便趕到男孩身邊,抱著他的身軀痛哭不已,最後竟也傷心欲絕暈死倒地。奇妙的是,兩人死後的地方,竟長出一顆大樹,樹上總是棲著幽幽的蘭花,從此,人們就稱呼這個地方為「棲蘭」 。這故事的真實性已不可考察,但走在棲蘭林間,的確不時看到樹幹枝枒上棲著蘭花,嬌柔優雅的身姿,總讓人眼睛為之一亮。
16:00 ~ 16:30 抵達山莊後辦理入宿手續,一個溫馨的歡樂假期隨即展開。
16:30 ~ 18:00 棲蘭山莊景觀
諸位可自行前往園區中庭花園觀賞,此處以桂花、山茶、杜鵑、檜木和假山為主要造景,充分展現園藝之美,是拍照取景的最佳場景。三川匯流觀景台,對著三座如龜形的小山,有「三龜拱壽」之意,蘭陽、多望、田古爾三溪順勢匯流,等於是「萬流歸宗」,因此有人形容這裡座擁著絕佳的風水,是欣賞四周山光雲影最好的地方。空閒之際亦可在櫻杏步道及梅桃步道內漫步,享受這遠離塵囂的悠閒時光。
18:00 ~ 20:00 傍晚時分於飯店內享用一份精緻美味的山林晚宴。
18:00 ~ 20:00 夜幕低垂之際,山莊內的舉辦一場溫馨的同學聚會。
20:00 ~ 24:00 星空下的寧靜之夜。
入夜後在滿天迷人的星空下,三五好友談天說地到深夜。寧靜夜下享受與聆聽山林間昆蟲與植物的對話。
00:00 ~ 00:00 夜幕低垂,星光夜語話往事,觀星、談星、摘星……。
夜晚的宜蘭的山區裡,有著很多的美景,遠眺之處美景天成,地理環境自成一格,極美。春末夏初之際,美麗的繁星有如銀河般飄浮在寂靜的夜空中,享受著美麗星光的氣氛及夢幻般的閃爍與飛舞。而深秋之際此處的山林中更是蘊藏著那些耐人尋味的美麗景緻。入夜後,星空下話家常,此時的園區裡,有著非常的寧靜與清幽,夜鷹的輕聲低語與繁星溫馨的閃爍,伴隨你進入甜甜的夢鄉。
  
7月8日 週日 第 2 天
晨喚,棲蘭的清晨 ~ 探訪台灣祕境【馬告生態公園】 ~ 一百神木群生態之旅 ~ 午餐時刻森林餐盒 ~ 棲蘭 ~ 礁溪 ~ 湯圍溝溫泉公園 ~ 聽濤 ~ 北濱紅螃蟹海鮮大餐 ~ 返抵台北
00:00 ~ 00:00 今日安排搭乘  43人座大型旅遊巴士接待貴賓。
08:30 ~ 09:00 晨喚,一個溫馨與柔和恬靜的蘭陽清晨。
清晨的宜蘭充滿了幾分柔和與恬靜。諸位將在溫馨的睡夢中甦醒,一份豐盛的早餐後,諸位將探訪如同珍珠般灑落在蘭陽平原上的一景一物。
09:00 ~ 10:00 棲蘭,一個美麗的世外桃源
在渡假村的清晨裡座擁森林,於此散發及呼吸著森林原木特有的健康因子芬多精,這裡有蟲鳴、蝶舞,還有浪漫的晨曦。 行徑於林間小路,清亮的鳥語不時在耳邊響起,此刻有如置身世外桃源,清晨走在生態步道上,聆聽清脆的鳥叫聲,飛鼠於樹上穿梭移動的身影,到處都可感受到棲蘭的清晨之美。
10:30 ~ 11:30 即將出發,探訪台灣祕境【馬告生態公園】
神木群目前係屬管制區,須辦理入山證方得入內,她位於台 100線 12公里處,海拔1500公尺 ,每日限定 720人入園。從棲蘭山莊搭乘九人座專車前往神木園區需一個小時車程,半小時的山路,30分鐘的石路。這條約 30公里長的道路均為單行道,沿路上兩旁高聳巨木、山嵐降臨、雲霧繚繞,猶如踏上遠古世紀的探險旅程。
11:30 ~ 14:00  馬告生態公園一百神木群生態之旅
神木園中內生長著近百棵樹齡千年以上的紅檜及台灣扁柏。其中五十一顆神木以樹齡推算朝代,並結合歷代古聖先賢之名命之。孔夫子、司馬遷、白居易、武則天... 等等,高矗參天,氣勢磅礡。在專業老師的解說之下,每一株神木猶如一本歷史書籍矗立在眼前。在這古木參天、濃蔭庇地的神木群裡,在這豐富珍貴的森林生態環境中,請記得與千年神木一起大口的森呼吸,感受一下神木的靈氣,並感謝大自然所給予的生命奇蹟。
14:00 ~ 14:50 午餐時刻於馬告生態享用森林餐盒。
14:50 ~ 16:00 馬告神木群生態之旅結束後搭乘小巴返回棲蘭
16:00 ~ 17:30 返抵棲蘭並於辦理退宿後搭乘專車前下一個旅遊景點。
17:30 ~ 17:30 礁溪溫泉。
礁溪溫泉位於宜蘭縣礁溪鄉,源由來是因三萬年前火山噴發時所流出的岩漿仍然殘留在地底下,造成附近的地下岩層產生高溫,而礁溪正好位在火山噴發的範圍裡。因此在礁溪火車站附近聚集了近百家溫泉旅館、飯店,形成溫泉鄉的特殊景致。由於宜蘭地質特殊加上地底有熱源和斷層,因此地層裂縫提供熱氣上升的通道,而在大量的雨水滲入地下岩層之後迅速地被地下熱能加熱,變成為滾燙的地下水,若通過地表的裂縫便受壓湧出成為滾燙的溫泉;礁溪溫泉屬於碳酸氫鈉泉,泉色清無臭,酸鹼值約在7左右,湧到地表時約為58℃,洗後光滑柔細不黏膩,由於富含鈉、鎂、鈣、鉀、碳酸離子等礦物質成分,因此不論是浸泡、沐浴、或經處理後成為礦泉水飲用,都有益於身體健康,被譽為「溫泉中的溫泉」。
17:30 ~ 17:40 湯圍溝溫泉公園
湯圍溝溫泉公園為德陽路、仁愛路中間,佔地約為1公頃,將溫泉設施、景觀道路、公園及周邊商業區融合在一起,設有男女公共浴室、足湯亭、溫泉迴廊、戲水區、竹棚亭、對奕亭、東廣場、溫泉自湧、散步道、溫泉井、西廣場、親子亭、溫泉觀測井、小劇場以及商店等等設施,是相當完備的旅遊景點,讓來到礁溪體驗溫泉的您賓至如歸;另外路旁還設有湯圍溝公共浴池,提供民眾免費享受溫泉喔!
17:40 ~ 19:00 聽濤北濱紅螃蟹海鮮大餐
晚餐來到至今已邁入第十年的宜蘭頭城「紅螃蟹」海鮮餐廳,該餐廳以供應當地生鮮海產為主,主廚不斷研發烹調手法,讓美味增添絕佳創意。這裡的生猛鮮蟹,建議以清蒸的方式料理,才能夠品嚐到螃蟹原汁與原味的鮮美。除了螃蟹之外,王老闆還會依照季節時令的不同,推薦新鮮的食材來搭配菜色。老闆引以為傲的功夫菜「皮蛋蝦仁」一定要現場親自品嚐。豆腐要先炸過,皮蛋也要先蒸熟,再裏上麵粉油炸,鮮蝦比照處理,最後所有食材一起大火快炒,這道功夫菜的要領就是運用鹹蛋提味的秘訣。此外,高居紅螃蟹的人氣榜料理,諸如芋泥、馬吉丸等等,更有總統國宴上的糕渣,僅由麵粉、太白粉、蝦子、高湯……等簡單食材就能烹調出如此美妙口感,用餐饕客一口接一口,百吃不膩!輕鬆享用美食之餘,同時也感受到宜蘭人溫馨好客之道。
19:00 ~ 20:00 馬告之美
這是一段既精彩又豐富的山林生態之旅,這裡有著許多動人的山水和驚豔景致。神木山林之美,處處充滿著生機、絢麗與多彩。相信這裡的每一個景色,都有著許許多多耐人尋味的深度與魅力。今日,在與山林的美麗邂逅中,相信大家用感性的讚嘆為這裡留下美麗的見證,也使得馬告生態公園的美永遠銘烙在你我心中。回程的途中,大家帶著愉悅的心情,回憶著也記錄著每一次變幻的山景與雲霧,還有我們藏留在山谷中歡樂的笑聲。
20:00 ~ 20:00 二天一夜的棲蘭國家森林及宜蘭之旅,在歡樂聲中返抵台北。
永豐旅旅行社全體工作人員, 預祝您 旅途愉快 !
協辦單位:永豐旅旅行社, Pan China Travel Express.
Phone. 02-25652666   0920-869000
Contact: 徐絢章 Andrew Hsu

 -- NTU MATH 1977 志工團隊, 2012/4/16

2011/06/15

畢業三十五週年同學會活動預告, 暫定2012/7/7 to 7/8, 期待您的參與

今年,2011民國100年,六月四日台大畢業典禮。看著校園四處行走拍照的畢業生,真是往事如煙,難以想像我們畢業都已經三十四年,有些人孩子都大學畢業,甚至結婚了。

回想1977 民國 66 年6 月 16 日 星期四,杜鵑花城驪歌響起,我們參加畢業典禮以後,在台大校園拍照,新舊數學館、醉月湖畔、椰林大道、傅鐘、傅園………到處留下足跡,然後大家各奔前途,走向那未知的人生旅程。 當年的畢業照片,散見 《大頭珍藏》、《之舜珍藏》 、《振芳珍藏》、《憶如月》,大家看看,回味一下。 雖說分居天涯海角,多年來,我們還是或多或少保持聯絡,進入二十一世紀以後,交往更是頻繁,透過網路和人際關係,我們號召失聯的同學歸隊,舉辦眾多的活動,難怪有人要感歎“從來沒聽過台大數學系有這種規模的同學會”了。

這次班上網頁出刊,我們推出:

100701.欣葉》 2010 暑假美琪返台,正好在美的敬中、春媛、茜莉也在台灣,七月一日班上在欣葉南京西路店聚餐,參加的同學暨眷屬共有二十六人,規模浩大。義中和彧夏都是首次參加,彧夏還高興得拿著相機四處拍照呢!

101113.欣葉(第二次)》 這次聚會是 2010 十一月間,開慶返台,十一月十三日在欣葉南京西路店第二次聚餐,開慶並帶黃宗仁學長參加。

101211.天仁喫茶趣中山店》 欣葉第二次同學會後,開慶到大陸一趟,然後返台,又開同學會。這是 2010 年第三次同學會,所以沒驚動大家,只是通知比較可能出席的同學而已。

110305.紫藤廬》 2011/3/5 捕頭蔡光夫婦回國,適逢台大杜鵑花節,校園活動豐富,特別安排校園巡禮,並在紫藤廬聚餐,台一吃湯圓、冰品。紫藤廬是台灣民主運動、反對運動及自由學者的聚會場所,是茶館,也是全台灣第一處市定古蹟,在此用餐,別有一番風味。餐後轉往台一吃湯圓、冰品,回味當年【全成冰果店】的往日情懷,乃庚兄當天並贈送大家每人一盒輕發酵的阿里山高山烏龍茶,健康兼養生,謝謝乃庚兄的熱心和招待。

110508.母親節義中台大校園遊》 母親節義中和太太到台大福華用餐,再到台大校園逛逛,偷得浮生半日閒,悠遊一番。

鶯娟近況》 2009年三月底,班上終於和鶯娟聯絡上。可惜鶯娟因為繁忙,還沒機會返台,所以我們請鶯娟提供照片,讓大家了解鶯娟的近況。

謀面的定國,帶來另一個驚喜,定國長年旅居海外,工作之餘,還不忘持續推動中文教育,在北加州東灣中文學校當了十七年的家長,並且偶爾兼負校長職責。定國內心時時關心台灣,2010年八月當莫拉克颱風重創南台灣後,立即發起募款活動特別感恩和感謝定國的關懷和愛心。

明年畢業三十五週年,班上計畫擴大舉行聚會。目前暫定 2012/7/7 to 7/8, 大約在北台灣找一處風景區聚會,還沒做最後決定,請大家多提意見。另外,關於班上網頁,歡迎大家提供大學時代照片,懷念少年十五二十時。也希望大家能把生活照片上網,如義中和鶯娟所為,讓班上網頁內容更充實。

-- NTU MATH 1977 志工團隊 2011/6/16 畢業典禮34週年慶

2011/02/22

2011 春酒暨同學會活動通知

配合台大杜鵑花節,今年的春酒暨同學會也安排同時段在 3/5 舉行,當天有【2011臺大杜鵑花節 校友專屬系列活動】 提供【校友證申辦現場服務】、【校友專屬校園導覽】等服務。有興趣的同窗,可以保握機會,順道享受這些服務。如果計畫參與【校友校園導覽】的活動,需辦校友證,並當場報名,時間到當天 16:00 pm,請自行安排前往,詳情參見活動網頁

專屬 ntumath77 的活動安排如下:

日期:2011/03/05

活動內容:16:00pm 在台大校門口見面,巡禮椰林大道、傅鐘、醉月湖、天文數學館等不特定地點。預計 18:30 抵達紫藤廬,用餐、敘舊、討論2012年同學會。

聚餐地點:紫藤廬
紫藤廬是全台灣第一處市定古蹟,也是台北市第一處以人文歷史精神及公共空間內涵為特色而指定的活古蹟。
每人餐點費用預估不超過 NT$500 元。當天有榻榻米包廂,需脫鞋。
地址:台北市大安區新生南路三段16巷1號 (靠近新生南路、和平東路口)
電話: 02-23637375, 02-23639459

為掌握人數,方便活動和餐廳細節的安排,請於 3/1 前,告知與會人數、參加的活動內容 (巡禮、晚餐)、以及聯絡手機。

已報名:18位
巡禮&晚餐:蔡光夫婦、乃庚夫婦、振芳、榮鎮、興祥、貴棠
晚餐:永進夫婦、三益夫婦、晃忠、孝光、朝欽、繁經
巡禮:平中、喻誠

感謝:乃庚兄當天會贈送大家每人一盒輕發酵的阿里山高山烏龍茶,健康兼養生,謝謝乃庚兄的熱心和招待。

敬祝 身體健康、萬事如意!

聯絡人:
1. michael 劉興祥, dr.michael.liu@gmail.com
2. henry 林榮鎮, ljchenry@gmail.com

備註:台大校園停車資訊

2010/03/29

醉月平台—期待您的參與

醉月平台—期待您的參與

在 2008 年教師節《畢旅2.0》出刊後,畢旅志工就沒有新的網頁公佈,但實際上仍有不少網頁在默默的安排。現在,我們將要慢慢推出 這些網頁,提供大家欣賞。

回想班上網站的設立,起於 2007 年興祥和蔡光籌備 1977 級畢業 30 週年聯誼會—阿里山、玉山國家公園森林知性之旅,在永豐旅旅行社 Andrew 的大力協助下,一個屬於我們的臨時網站有了眉目。然而阿里山之旅後,相片不少,為了找個合適的地方供大家下載、分享,嚐試了幾個免費的公眾 網站,最後選定 google。

接著美琪拿出珍藏多年的照片,2007.9.16 獨力完成《憶如月》網簿,內容真摯感人,令人徘徊不已。然後捕頭蔡光出馬,四處奔波,訪問同學,蒐集照片,經過一年多努 力,終於劃下《畢旅2.0》暫時的逗點,期待他日再續。

班上的網站以及網簿是一個屬於大家的開放平台,是讓班上同 學回想當年大學往事和分享最近生活的地方。我們可以讓它自由發展,如同社會學郝繼隆老師所愛唱的歌《 que sera sera 》,萬事隨緣,順其自然。既然多年好友,我們可以透過 Email 聊天,也可回想當年,無拘無束。我們將逐步公佈目前籌備中的網頁,這次公佈三個網頁: 【台大數學月】、【好記聚餐】、【隆基】,如有感想或意見,請多多回饋。醉月平台—期待您的參與,如是而已。

-- NTU MATH 1977 志工團隊 ntumath77@gmail.com, 2010 青年節

2010/02/01

行向世界e台語金頭腦 Preface

行向世界e台語金頭腦~~ Preface for Daiqi Golden Brain

It has been several decades to know my good friends IngZin (永進) and ChunHong (春凰) since we were college students. Both IngZin and ChunHong have been working together from the bottom of their hearts to promote Taiwanese for many years far before Ministry of Education announced the first recommendation set of MinNan dialect in 2007. To overcome lack of standards, they further developed many pronouncing and writing methods. They also gave speech, taught in universities, and published to spread their beliefs. Due to short history of documentation, very few publications discujavascript:void(0)ss advanced skills in Taiwanese. To my surprise, this book (“台語世界級金頭腦”) studies thinking and conceiving systematically. Such a contribution could favor people who use Taiwanese as mother tongue and form their ideas naturally and powerfully.

Thinking is a skill by nature. Kids are guided to think and to learn by asking why with curiosity. From experience, education, and many various resources, we learn to think, to justify, and to make right decision. Thinking can be quite straightforward. In front of delicious desserts, we may enjoy more and gain weight, or may take only little and maintain good body shape. In a hot room of a summer afternoon, we may open windows for little wind without cost, turn on a fan for controllable wind with more cost, or turn on an air conditioner for most comfortable temperature with most expensive cost. On the other hand, we may also escape from the room and enjoy pleasant moods in department stores. We follow social regulations to make daily lives well-organized. In the midnight, facing a red traffic light and with very low traffic, some people run the red light to save several seconds with the risk of getting traffic tickets and possible accidents, and other people wait for the green light to avoid fine and stay safe.

In many situations, it is necessary to justify inputs carefully. At shopping malls, the first priority of salespeople is to sell goods and to drag cash out of shoppers' wallets. The information provided by the salespeople can be biased. When Nuskin advertised that her machine, Pharmanex Biophotonic scanner, has magic capability of measuring health in seconds by scanning a single finger, the claim might not be realistic and was for the purpose to support the sale of nutrition food. Recent big news on U.S. beef imports to Taiwan, both Taiwan and U.S. officials insisted that U.S. bone-in beef, ground beef and offal are all safe by quoting research reports. However, is it acceptable that we have to face any risk with the meat approved by the Department of Health? Does our government have our interest in health, living environment, and food supply chain? Lots of local residents understood the potential high risk and protested nationwidely.

Occasionally, existing backgrounds are not enough to justify the truth. Give two examples. Will using a cell phone near a gas pump cause an explosion? Can paper be folded in half more than seven times? Under well-controlled experiments, Mythbusters, a popular science television program, raised and provided answers to these two and many other interesting myths. From their experiments, we learn that truth can upset intuitive.

People with similar education backgrounds may perform very differently. Thinking, skill, and insistence are all critical. Even a five-star chef can cook nothing in a kitchen without kitchenware, cooking materials, and ingredients. After all necessary tools and materials are prepared, a housewife can start to cook with experiments. With recipes, the process of cooking skills can be greatly improved. Frequent practice is often still required to master and to cook consistent and tasty dishes. We need not only knowledge but also experiments to discover unknown facts. The ideas inspired from knowledge and thinking can be more effective and efficient if we can derive in methodical ways.

This book works like a rich set of kitchenware along with techniques to use. Accumulated knowledge is cooking materials. Many genuine recipes are also provided to explain the usability of these techniques. The most valuables are to create our own recipes from skills and knowledge. With imagination, thinking, experiments, and practice, knowledge along with various techniques can make thinking into precious recipes, excellent innovations, and wonderful ideas. Furthermore, with experiments and insistence, innovations and ideas can really make difference and may even change the world.

President, GNT Corp. (全球聯通科技股份有限公司)
Michael Liu (劉興祥)
2010.02.01

2010/01/31

Forever Young

這裡是一些關於「永遠年輕」(forever young)的聯想:

(一)假設「歲月催人老」為真,

所以「現在」的我,認不出「以前」曾經年輕的我。加上大夥記憶和推理,圖一的時段,當可定案。

(二)假設「歲月催人老」不為真,

因此有些人一直年輕。比方說,十月初出生的人,特別容易保持年輕的面容。圖一照片中有五人,至少一人生日在十月的機率應當是 5/12 。或許正是這樣,在如月專輯的相簿裡(註一),同樣的人在許多年後,容貌並無明顯的差異。

圖二的照片,只有花朵,不見人影,無法判定是誰選的,但是看起來是鬱金香(tulip)。按照花店的說法,那是象徵圓滿的愛(perfect love),一個沒有懼怕,沒有病痛的境界,一個在天堂找得到的特質。鮮黃的花朵,常是代表愉悅的境界;淺紅的顏色,應是代表活力與熱情;淡紫的鬱金香,像是代表 grace and elegance ……,想來這圖片是嘗試表達如月的一些特徵性質。鬱金香因生長緯度的不同,而有不同的花期,但似乎公認那是春天的花朵,或許這本專輯正是希望大家記得她的笑容和那些美好的時光。

在人間,時間是用來排列事件發生的前後;在天堂,時間這個參考座標軸退化成一點,現在、過去與未來,不再有特別意義,在那個前提下,「永遠年輕」(forever young)應為真。


順頌時祺

海文 2010/1/14 21:28

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

海文信件二 1/31/2010

興祥、振芳、美琪

《陽明山與杜鵑花》

陽明山(昔稱草山)以奇花異草著稱。小學時候,那是春季旅行固定且唯一的選擇。記憶裡花季時,滿山遍谷是杜鵑。應當是師長所說:「記得將來要到杜鵑花多的地方唸書。」影響所及,聯考時真的填滿台大各科系。如果記憶沒錯,美琪填表時,只填了七系,而且從頭到尾都是「數學」,歲月催人老,那真是十分遙遠以前的事了。

多謝振芳來信,回想大學的日子,與班上合照的相片,大概就那幾張。與如月和鶯娟的對話,恐怕也沒超過數十句,其中應當包含借與還「中國通史」筆記的對答。也許正因這樣,而凸顯友情的可貴。

關於服役時的一些明信片,回想起來,或許只是一些雞毛蒜皮的小事,十分驚訝振芳如此珍藏著。如果能選擇,「永遠年輕」那篇應該較具可讀性。

大一文選中,莊子是這樣寫的:
「生也有涯,知也無涯,以有涯隨無涯,殆已!」
希望「永遠年輕」不被解讀成「數學家前論數學」才好。

祝平安

海文 2010/1/31

2009/09/28

畢旅 2.0

NTU MATH 1977 同窗:

1973 年,我們來自四面八方,開始台大數學系四年的生涯。四年中,有甘有苦,也有幸遇見數位令人感懷不已的良師。

1977 年,我們終於學而有成,同年三月攜手同行,展開我們的畢業之旅。這一趟,當時用了七天的時間,從台大出發,東行經過宜蘭礁溪、蘇澳、花蓮太魯閣、長春祠、慈母橋、天祥、台中梨山、武陵、谷關、日月潭、溪頭,然後開始漫長、艱苦的溪阿縱走之挑戰,最後在嘉義各奔南北。

我們不曾忘懷當時的情景,1997 年,二十年後的同學會,我們再度踏上溪頭。2007 年,三十年後的同學會,攜家帶眷,陣容更為龐大,我們再度踏上阿里山。那是個令人懷念的旅程,歸途中,蔡光開始構思畢旅照片整理、發表的計畫。

蔡光、之舜翻箱倒櫃,有了畢旅照片的初步影子。問題緊跟著來了,經過三十年,有些人忘了出發的地點、去過的景點,有的連是否參加過畢旅都不復記憶的,也有一些同學,記憶驚人,鉅細靡遺,令人嘆為觀止。然而,蔡光四處探訪的結果,各說各話,真真假假,無從核對,也無從查證。經過兩個月的摸索追問,走投無路之際,抱存最後一絲希望,來到振芳的手中。

賓果!

振芳聽力不好,但是觀察入微,也保有長期記日記的習慣。畢旅之行,竟然詳細記錄到以分為單位的行程。畢旅的研究,終於有了一個較為可靠的文字基準。蔡光將照片初步依序排出順序來,這才只是開始,經過這麼長久的時間,記憶不再是可靠的依據。三十年來的景點,變遷頗大,有些已經完全消失、有些已經改建,山谷變了形,翠綠的山坡變了調,這一切都加深比對的困難。話說回來,網路上,隨手可得的豐富資料,也讓比對的工作輕鬆不少,不用重回現場,就可讓遠在台灣和美國兩地的畢旅工作志工,依據專長,自動自發,逐步填補那三十年前的留影和空檔。畢旅志工的情境,振芳的對聯最能表達出其內心寫照:

研兮鑽兮,卅張照片,三個臭皮匠,且學諸葛排八卦。
真耶幻耶,幾篇追憶,四個老數癡,還效莊生夢蝴蝶。

此回畢旅2.0的整裡,除了自得其樂的之舜、振芳、蔡光、興祥在台美兩地,不分晝夜之密切合作外,特別感謝多位同學的鼎力相助,包括美琪、茜莉、豫德、大頭、三益、平中、志中、永慰、敬中、朝欽、德成 、榮鎮、開慶的回憶,茜莉、大頭的珍貴照片。此外,德成和義容提供的幸福亭新舊照片還來不及整裡,未來配合畢旅 3.0 的出刊,將在清大行中,有精采演出。

我們也相信除了這些成果,還有很多很多藏在- 甚至忘在- 每個人櫃子裡的珍貴老照片,如果有幸公開和大家分享,我們將重新為它包裝,為它尋根,賦與它鮮活的新生命。

附上的各網簿連結是我們整理好的成果,細說我們當時的故事以及部分大學生活的點滴和回憶,希望您會喜歡。

* 【畢旅貳點零】:

畢旅貳點零和 Grad Trip 最大的不同,是新發現大頭的七張照片,和振芳的二張吳鳳廟照片,使得內容更為豐富。我們並按照新的研究成果,修改各照片說明內容。很明顯的,還有更多畢旅照片沒有找到,請大家多多提供。

* 【畢旅首日行程】:

介紹畢旅首日路線,和一路上班上曾經有過的遊蹤。例如:大二下福和橋甜不辣夜會、大一上數學學會竹林烤肉、大三上烏來遊、大三上數學學會會長美琪主辦的坪林露營、大四下頭城露營,目前寫到礁溪。再來的蘇花公路部分,以後推出。但這只是班上活動的一小部份,請大家多多提供大學時期照片和故事。

* 【太魯閣】:

這是畢旅志工收集太魯閣地區照片,作為研究之用的網簿。由於畫面看來不錯,就請大家欣賞。至於正式的說明,以後再提供大家。

* 【天祥】:

大頭天祥照片出現後,蔡光找出他以前的天祥遊照片,配合興祥的回憶,很快確定那是在普渡舊橋拍的,左方鐵橋是稚暉舊橋。那麼,稚暉舊橋後面建築是什麼呢?花了不少力氣,我們判斷是"天祥遊客服務站",並且逐漸弄清楚天祥各建築位置。

* 【中橫謎點】:

這是蔡光提供的網簿,主要是大學聯考後入學前的中橫遊照片,加上生活照。其中天祥照片有六張,特別高處下拍普渡橋和稚暉橋照片,怵目驚心,精采傑作,不可不看。

* 【碧綠謎木】:

不看不奇怪,越看越糊塗,天下怎麼有這種枝葉茂盛,主幹肥短的怪植物呢?遠處的貴棠明明在碧綠神木旁邊,居然有書呆子說不是,太超過了吧?且看畢旅志工為大家分析,說明真實的世界往往比小說更精采。

* 【萬里武陵春】:

一開始就知道是在武陵青年活動中心(山莊)拍的照片,有什麼好研究呢?想不到研究下去,居然在牆上發現左思的千古名句"濯足萬里流",早已被遺忘的武陵精神;武陵舊山莊和新山莊位置不同,我們嘗試拼湊出舊山莊模樣,這些故事,請聽振芳說古。

* 【畢旅光華島】:

"一張照片,能說出幾多故事?"只是孝婉和豫德和湖上拍的一張照片,居然傷透畢旅志工腦筋,頭上飄雪越來越厲害,而目前勉強得到結論: "光華島上拍的"。請聽蔡捕快娓娓道來,說出研究故事。

* 【大頭珍藏】:

大頭提供七張畢旅照片,使辨認工作大為突破,功德無量。另外的聚會照和畢業典禮照,也十分珍貴。

* 【之舜珍藏】:

之舜不但提供最多的畢旅照片,而且提供更多的班上照片。大三下六張犁中研院行照片,最早由茜莉提供。其餘茜莉彧夏合照、大一上竹林烤肉、畢業紀念冊黑白照、畢業典禮照片都值得大家慢慢觀賞。

* 【振芳珍藏】:

這裡面有十三張畢業典禮照片,拋磚引玉,我們希望蒐集更多畢業典禮照片,配合之舜二張和大頭一張畢業典禮,能做更深入的研究。

NTU MATH 1977 志工團隊
於 2008年教師節

2009/03/20

2009 好記擔仔麵聚餐

好記擔仔麵聚餐:

捕頭蔡光是【畢旅2.0】的創始者,也是從2007年八月的畢業三十週年阿里山之遊後,就有的構思。經過將近一年多的整理,陸陸續續挖掘出畢旅的部分實景,終於在2008年九月有了初步的成果,也已經正式公開。

蔡光夫婦更進一步,規劃2009年三月份的舊地重遊之旅,從台東騎鐵馬北上,最後陰錯陽差地踏上畢旅的花蓮、天祥之途,也順道再度到現場檢驗【畢旅2.0】考證的結果。

【好記】的聚餐,是捕頭夫婦結束鐵馬行,即將離台回美的前夕,大夥兒也樂的有這個機會,重溫一年一度的好夢。當天出席的包括永進夫婦、乃庚夫婦、朝欽夫婦、蔡光夫婦、興祥夫婦、三益、榮鎮、貴棠、孝光、晃忠、振芳、平中。所附的相片,是當天晚餐的活動集錦,未曾刻意修飾,保持原汁原味。至於,捕頭的一週鐵馬行,沿途紀錄的【舊地重遊】,樂趣多,資料珍貴,還待細心整理後,另行公開。

2008/03/01

拜訪恩師黃武雄教授節目表

2008.03.01 拜訪恩師黃武雄教授節目表
1. 日期:2008.03.01 (週六)
2. 地點:黃教授家 (花園新城後山)
3. 活動安排:
a. 下午 2:00 ~ 5:00 pm, 在黃教授家敘舊。
b. 5 pm 散步至其附近餐廳【山頂茗蘆】,共用晚餐。
4. 交通工具:自行前往,如果需要搭便車,請和我聯絡。
已經知道需要搭便車者:黃振芳、蕭美琪(搭興祥車)。
其餘還有需要者,請主動告知。
5. 已經決定參加的同窗十三位,名單如下:
三益、榮鎮、貴棠、振芳、永進、
朝欽、晃忠、喻誠、興祥、乃庚、
孝光、美琪、平中。
6. 費用:含晚餐及應景的大型蘭花盆栽。
7. 有相機的話,請隨身攜帶。

此外,我們的網頁又多了不少新鮮事,包括:
1. 蔡光主導,振芳、之舜和我協助整理的 1977 年畢業之旅。
2. 永進嫂春凰提供的【阿里山同窗會交響詩】,
記台大數學系1977級畢業三十冬同窗會阿里山之行台語詩三十首,
與大家分享。歡迎前往欣賞。

主要網址
相簿快速連結
阿里山同窗會交響詩

敬祝大家 金鼠年萬事如意!

-- 劉興祥 (michael)

2007/09/17

In Merory of 如月

Dear classmates of Math77:

Thanks to the help of Michael, Kuang, Zhishun and Tak, a photo album dedicated to the memory of Ru-Yue has been compiled at

http://picasaweb.google.com/ntumath77/InMemoryOf19552007#

If you have other photos of Ru-Yue and would like to share, please send them to any one of us. Pictures of Ru-Yue in our sophomore year would fill a big gap in the album.


A new group photo of our very first outing has been added to the album under "30th Reunion, Preludes" You will be amazed by how young and fresh we all looked!

For those of us who attended the reunion, I (as the only non-elected class representative) would like to thank Michael for all his work in putting together this memorable reunion.

For those of you who skipped the reunion, you do not know what you have missed! Just look at the album that Michael and Kunag had compiled! I really hope to see you all at the next reunion, wherever it may be.

With very best wishes,

Mei-Chi

2007/09/01

30th Reunion photos, stories, and a lot of more

Thanks a lot for help and comments from many people.
We finally come out a photo-telling story about the 30th Reunion.

We also have our own domain name ntumath.org
which provides easy access to all our resources, including web, album, blog, etc.
Here comes a summary:
1. Album and photo-telling story:
http://ntumath.org/album (AKA http://picasaweb.google.com/ntumath77)
The following albums are available:
A. The 30th Reunion Story: complete photo-telling story about the 30th Reunion
B. 30th Pre-reunion
C. 30th Reunion, Preludes
D. Many other photos of the 30th Reunion from 朝欽、奕成 (興祥公子)、蔡光。
E. 2006 TN Gathering
F. 2005 CA Gathering
G. 2003 Taipei Dinner Party
H. 1997 20th Reunion at 溪頭

In addition, an early version of album【In memory of 如月, 1955-2007】is also included.
如月不幸於2007年一月因糖尿病及長期洗腎引發的腦水腫過世於台南老鄉。
我們正在收集如月的生活照,介紹她美麗精采-的一生。
方便的話,請寄至 ntumath77@gmail.com。
也歡迎在此相簿下,直接表達個人的懷念之情。

2. Blog:
http://ntumath.org/blog (AKA http://ntumath77.blogspot.com)
Stories in text include
A. 30th Reunion at 阿里山, 2007
B. TN2006 Gathering, Recap
C. LA2005 Gathering, Recap
D. 20th Reunion at 溪頭, 1997

3. Web:
http://ntumath.org/alishan2007
This part is about the same as before.
A story of the 30th Reunion has been created in 【旅遊討論區】。
The story is the same as the blog in Item 2 above.

4. Attachment of an up-to-date directory: NTU_MATH77-070901.xls

Best Regards,

劉興祥, dr.michael.liu@gmail.com
蔡光, kuang.tsai@gmail.com

2007/08/31

阿里山同窗會交響詩

永進嫂春凰提供阿里山同窗會交響詩
記台大數學系1977級畢業三十冬同窗會
阿里山之行台語詩多首,與大家分享。

2007/08/10

2007 畢業三十週年阿里山遊記

地點:台灣玉山及阿里山

時間:2007.08.11 to 08.12

相簿:畢業三十週年阿里山遊記

0. 序曲

歷 經兩年的籌劃和半年來的密集執行,在永豐旅旅行社的大力幫忙下,我們終於準備實現期盼了多年的聚會。最後一週了,內心充滿著興奮之情,包括多位旅居美國和 台灣南北三十年不曾見過面的同窗,以及他們的眷屬和家人,都即將現身,重返當年畢業旅行溪阿縱走的目的地阿里山,心情難免激盪。這條溪阿縱走之路,當年花 了僅僅一天的時間,但是這一趟,從畢業二十週年的溪頭之旅到如今,已經整整十年的光景。

距離活動僅剩一週的時間,興祥因公臨時受命前往歐洲開會,出發前夕,才能由英國趕回國。幸好此時蔡光已經由美國回台灣,可以就近擔起決策重任,Andrew 也繼續協助,負責出發前的最後安排和聯絡工作,並和興祥隨時保持聯繫,以防臨時有任何緊急事情需要處理。更大的變數是,此週內,連續來了帕布和梧提兩個輕 度颱風,也帶來了豪大雨,幸好颱風走得快,沒有阻礙活動的進行。

活動前一天,八月十日由錢義隆主辦的 Pre-reunion 聚會,將當天有空的同窗先行聚在一起,在立德台大尊賢會館歡聚午餐,隨後再攜手返回數學系館懷舊,自此掀開此次活動的序幕。

1. 活動第一天:2007.08.11

台北的早晨,天空晴朗,氣候涼爽,微風無雨,非常舒適。在忠孝新生的候車處,除了乃庚醫師全家臨時有事,取消行程外,其餘全員到齊,比預定的時間稍早,準時出發,一個好的開始。Andrew 還特別前來送行,了解一切依照計畫進行。

往新竹的路上,大夥聚在後車廂,焦點話題又是教大一微積分的黃教授和教大二應用解析的楊教授,黃教授的關懷和熱情,對比楊教授的冷漠和無情,產生極大的落 差,或許這也是促使我們這一班更加團結,凝聚力更強,以至於畢業三十年來,一直不斷有著相關的聚會和活動。如今大夥活了半輩子,當年的成績也不是爭議和煩惱的重點,反而是飯後茶餘之際的話題和消遣。

在新竹的光明加油站,順利接上永進夫婦、晃忠及其女兒玉軒;反之,在嘉義的接人就沒那麼順 利,司機弄錯地點,因而和三益的候車地點是在高速公路下來的兩個相反方向的中埔加油站。考慮大車迴轉的困難和前往玉山的之順向性,還是請三益帶著振芳ㄧ家人(方芝和式寧)開車過來。內心對司機的粗心大意深感不安,但也不能形於顏色,以免影響他的開車情緒,幸好這是這趟旅行中的唯一例外,後續沒再出過差錯。Sophia 則在此段時間,有公事需要長時間的電話聯絡,在等人的二十分鐘內,順利完成工作,否則再走下去,山區道路收訊不良,嚴重影響通話品質,要達成使命恐怕有困難;這也是司機誤打誤撞,間接協助完成任務的小小插曲。

中午由奮起湖飯店送來的便當是裝在鋼製的便當盒裡,便當蓋上還打印著【慶祝阿里山鐵路黑頭仔車 96 大壽】,押的是今年聖誕日,便當用完餐,可以帶回家,相當有紀念價值。

塔塔山森林遊樂區坐落在海拔約兩千六百米的高山上,山路顛簸,幾位原來坐在後排的,紛紛轉移陣地到前排,還好路途不是那麼遙遠,最後終於熬過來了。從停車場 到玉山國家遊客中心的短短五分鐘的路上,雨勢頗大,大部分的人身體皆打溼了。Amy 禦寒衣物不足,臨時買了件外套;大頭買了不少輕便雨衣,送給大家防雨。二樓餐廳本來是不開伙的,看到我們這批大雨天中難得的訪客,也特別燒了鍋奶茶,讓大 家熱熱身。

大雨沒有稍停的跡象,因而到鐵木杉、夫妻樹之步道行程臨時取消。二千六百年的神木,就座落在大馬路旁,走路來回也只要一刻鐘。不畏寒冷和大雨的伙伴蔡光、之舜、興祥、鄭晃忠及其千金,特別撐著傘走了一趟。回到旅社,提早休息,也沖沖熱水澡,以免感冒。

晚餐準時開動,以山上的水準,五千元一桌的菜色是相當豐富的,包括芋頭扣肉、白斬雞、紅蟳油飯、蛤仔炒絲瓜、蒜頭蝦、香爆山蘇、酥炸竹雞、四色拼盤(鮑魚、牛腱、鴨賞、涼筍),外加兩瓶每瓶八百元的 2004 年台灣國宴用紅酒 MoutonCadet,相當盡興。外頭雨勢下個不停,也沒有停止的跡象,晚飯後決定取消明早阿里山之日出之旅,讓大家有個充足的睡眠,改逛二萬平的黑森林步道及鐵道。

餐後在 KTV 室,帶來美酒以及幾道小菜和水果,又繼續談將起來;晨萍由於母親肝癌,臨時無法成行,特別送給大家每人多片音樂 CD 片,大夥也特地打電話輪流向她及她媽咪問好。然後進入 KTV 的活動高峰,美琪在大頭要求下唱了ㄧ首,多數人皆開懷地展喉大唱一番。節目進行到約九點半,突然間全部斷電,只剩下緊急照明,此時剛好安排玉軒和式寧的表演,她們的個性皆非常開朗又聰明伶俐,笑話和成語故事紮實有趣,謎語和腦筋急轉彎則考倒我們這群老頭。外頭雨聲非常大,小孩聲音小,榮鎮建議用麥克風,大 頭糗他ㄧ頓,喇叭沒電啦!

停電期間,蔡光、興祥、榮鎮、永進夫婦藉著微弱的緊急照明燈,一直留在 KTV 室喝酒聊天,十一點正,KTV 室的電恢復了,但是也是關門的時候了,五個人又移往飯店大廳繼續聊。聊到翁瑞揚每次打麻將聽牌都會臉紅的往事,最後也收手將麻將丟入醉月湖,過了幾個禮 拜,又被興祥帶著幾位橄欖球隊友撿回來,修修補補,上上已經脫落的漆,最後這付牌成為【三段八號】夥伴們之消遣工具。到了凌晨十二點半,大夥累了,才各自回房休息;永進和興祥則意猶未盡,利用二樓的餐廳繼續看書和記載旅遊的趣事,回房休息時,已經將近二點。

2. 活動第二天:2007.08.12

昨晚強烈的風雨打在美琪、齊平中夫婦之兩間小木屋上,美琪稱之為萬馬奔騰,睡眠難免受影響;平中夫婦則回台一陣子了,比較習慣台灣的氣候,也就處之泰然。

早餐蠻豐富的,粥、小菜、青菜、洋蔥蛋、海帶、玉米湯,外加吐司、饅頭,隨自己的需要取用,平中夫婦是基督徒,飯前須禱告,其他同桌人士則無此限制。接近八 點半結束用餐的時刻,三益注意到振芳家庭還未下來用餐,緊急由我負責到房間找人,才知道其ㄚ頭睡得晚了,還正在整裝。早餐延到九點結束,讓晚起的伙伴用餐 無須太過匆忙。今天恰逢式寧生日,事情一忙,忘了道聲生日快樂,後來在回程的車上,全車送她一個大大的生日快樂歌,蛋糕則要振芳回家後再買給她。

九點準時由飯店出發走步道,對面塔塔山隱隱約約在雲霧的空檔中出現,大部分的人取道黑森林步道。Sophia 擔心森林步道階梯路滑,其全家改走鐵道,雨勢下個不停,估算好時間回飯店,湊巧遇見另一隊人馬,已經在稍早些時分回來,時間有些匆忙,整理好行李,踏向奮 起湖之路。

離開二萬平青年活動中心不久,除了感謝大家的配合調整行程外,也同時公佈邱如月於今年一月病逝的不幸消息,三益兄細數和她交往最後幾個月的經過。如月因為糖尿病,引發腎臟疾病,每週需要洗腎二到三次,對如月來說是相當沉重的負擔和痛苦的事,在今年一月的洗腎過程中昏迷,送到成大醫院急救,不久就過世了,最後確定死因是腦水腫。死亡對如月或許是一種解脫,對我們來說則是無窮盡的思念。全體為她默哀,美琪去年12月還和三益去看過她 呢!想不到不久就過世了,蔡光要大家看開些,心情不要再沉悶,該面對的遲早總須面對。

坐落在奮起湖新火車站旁的老街海拔1405米,是全台最高的老街。小店鋪聚集的小街道約有五十米,人潮洶湧。隨後轉入柴油車和蒸汽老火車頭的展示室,古色古香,頗有歷史意義。

踏入奮起湖大飯店,湊巧遇見常在電視上做廣告的奮起湖便當的本尊,也是飯店的老闆,在他的首肯下,我們翹起大拇指合照了幾張相,台灣第一是我們共同的理念。

午餐實在很豐盛,從人參燉烏骨雞、茶酥野生蜂蛹、熱炒柳松菇、藥膳荷葉山鱒、養生竹桶蝦、碧綠雙脆、鐵板鴕鳥肉、畚箕雙色豆腐、三杯田雞、檳榔花,到風味石 頭鮮魚湯(沙岩)以及水果甜點等,不只多,實在是太多太多,還剩下許多吃不完,幸好三益兄願意將這些剩菜包回家,不然真是浪費。

飯後全體 和飯店本尊又合照了幾張相,在大雨威脅下,大部分的人逛可以遮風避雨的新市集,Sophia 和興祥則在導遊一路摸索下,終於找到奮起湖文化中心,對於畚箕湖的由來有了較為明確的了解。叫了三杯檜木咖啡,每杯一百元的價位相當高,但是其味道走樣, 感覺則完全是另一回事;檜木和咖啡的組合非常的不協調,檜木是拿來聞的,不是泡來喝的。沿著木製階梯走回停車場的路上,被大雨打落的新松枝稀稀落落的躺在 階梯上,昨晚的雨勢想必相當大,路過一個百香果園,導遊突然說那是時鐘果,也解開我小時學到的「土結索」之謎,原來後者是日文發音的時鐘果。

離開奮起湖是活動準備結束的時候了,回來的感覺真好,一路上就是唱歌,唱個不停。沿途送回嘉義、新竹的同窗,回到台北已經八點半,也終於是曲終人散的時候。互道珍重,期望2012年再相會。

3. 後記

千鈞一髮之際,此次的活動和三個颱風差身而過,在風雨中,在高山上,度過非常難得的三十週年聚會,大雨沒有澆熄我們的熱情,大風沒有吹走我們的喜悅,在嘹喨的歌聲中,期盼了兩年的活動,終於順利圓滿落幕,感謝大家的熱情參與。

2006/08/05

TN 2006 Gathering, Recap


Album: TN 2006 Gathering, Recap

Where: Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan’s residence in Cookeville, Tennessee, USA.

When: 8/5/2006 ~ 8/12/2006.

Who:

Yung-Way (永慰), Chung-Yuan (春媛), Yeh-Geun (一駿), Mei-Chi (美琪), Chi-Yen (), Zhi-Shun (之舜), Chienli (茜莉), Jing-Chung (敬中), Tsai Kuang (蔡光).

... 8/5/2006 ...

I arrived at Yung-Way (永慰) & Chung-Yuan's (春媛) farm in Tennessee around 7pm on 8/5. It was as hot and humid as in California a week earlier, but what also greeted me was this eerily home-coming feel: the green that stretch as far as eyes can see, the cows that stare with eyes as big as your fists, and the little creek that always hides one more creature than you first believe! You have to remember I was born and raised in the rural settings of Southern Taiwan, and all of these were familiar objects to me even though they existed only in very distant memory! I believed even Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan were a bit surprised that I felt "right at home" throughout my entire stay at their farm. As it turned out, and hopefully not too much to their inconvenience, it took them one whole week to get rid of this home-coming geek! After being treated to a quick dinner in a local restaurant, we went back "home" and chatted until Yung-Way & Chung-Yun could stand my 3-hour-longer California clock no more! Forgive my intrusion my friends: that was the first time I got to chat with Chung-Yuan after graduating from NTU in 1977!

... 8/6/2006 ...

Yeh-Geun (一駿) was the first to arrive on 8/6. He drove to Cookeville from Atlanta, Georgia, bringing with him fresh Li-Chi and water melons for our hot summer gathering. (What he did not know was that I had already ate myself silly from the zillion kinds of pear trees in Yung-Way's side yard!) He also brought good-old cup noodles and Mahjong table, but somehow forgot to bring the mahjong! More chatting ensued as this was the first time I got to see Yeh-Geun since 1977! Just like the LA2005 Gathering, it is amazing how little Yeh-Geun has changed: funny, witty, and talkative as usual! After just a few chatting sessions we all agreed Yeh-Geun could have easily sprung a different career of being a talk show host – and still have enough leftover materials to make all of us laugh for five nights straight!

Mei-Chi (美琪) was next to arrive on 8/6. She and her hubby, Hseuh-Chia, drove 8-hour straight from South Bend, Indiana, thinking all along that it would be a 10-hour drive! Arriving earlier than expected, and after checking into a local hotel, Mei-Chi & Hseuh-Chia arrived at Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan's in the mid-afternoon of 8/6. What happened next was pure fact-finding expedition: Mei-Chi & Chung-Yuan finally got to find out why Yeh-Geun ended up partnering with them in the Lab session of freshman Physics 33 years ago! According to Yeh-Geun, he arrived late at the first lab meet and, facing the dilemma between partnering with Da-tou/Da-bao ( /之舜) or Mei-Chi/Chung-Yuan, he wisely chose the lesser evils! While Yeh-Geun & Mei-Chi/Chung-Yuan arguing out who's done whom "wrong" in the old lab days, I sat quietly by them, scratching my head trying to recall who were my Physics Lab partners? Or did I ever attend any of the lab sessions? (To this day I'm still not sure who partnered with me then. I vaguely recalled it was Shu-Chung (緒宗), but I guess I'll have to wait till the all-cast reunion in August 2007 to figure this one out for good!) While Yeh-Geun & Mei-Chi/Chung-Yuan may or may not have settled down with a final version of what actually transpired 33 years ago, one thing was quite clear to me: silly things we did when we were young somehow always ended up being our fond memories! A picture was taken of the three now-united Lab partners, as we all awaited the arrivals of the real villains: the Da-tou/Da-bao Lab team!

... 8/7/2006 ...

All TN Gathering classmates arrived at Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan's on 8/7, except for Chienli (茜莉) and Yu-The (豫德). Yu-Teh called in sick that morning, coming down with a terrible fever that lasted a whole week while all of us had fun! (Yu-Teh is now up and running, and vows to attend the 30-year all-cast reunion no matter what!) Chienli had scheduled her arrival late on the next day – completely ignoring my warning not to do so! As she must regret a little by now: a lot of chatting were missed. I myself bear some responsibility here, however: it was I who randomly picked 8/8, a weekday, as the TN Gathering D-day way back in October 2005. Sorry Chienli: I couldn't quite think straight then as I was in the middle of a post-gathering trance! I vow not to do the same no more!

Chi-Yen arrived first on 8/7, lunch eaten, after Yung-Way/Chung-Yuan, Yeh-Geun and I all waited for him – for lunch! Probably guilt-driven, and nearing his big birthday too, Da-tou ended up picking up the dinner tap that evening for the entire gang! As I tried to tell everybody after the LA2005 Gathering, we really ought to cut Da-tou some slack despite his "obnoxiousness" on the surface! Deep down Da-tou is really a very gentle puppy – really!

Jing-Chung (敬中) arrived next on 8/7. Jing-Chung is what I jokingly call "an eagle with a big nest": he brought his entire family of five, wife Brenda and three daughters Jennifer/Alison/Christina! Prior to meeting Jing-Chung last year, I always thought I was the "bravest" one: living in a "female dorm" with wife and two daughters. I bet you a whole dollar that the toilet seats in Jing-Chung's house are all in the same configuration as those in mine! Jing-Chung's family had been on the road a few days prior to arriving at Cookeville: they've been driving around Arkansas and Tennessee, touring Cliton's Library and Elvis' Graceland. After checking into a local hotel, the Changs arrived at Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan's in the mid-afternoon of 8/7, joining all of us as we awaited the arrival of Da-bao's family.

What happened next was a total memory mess-up on my part. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight I can now perfectly reconstruct what went wrong with my almighty memory bank: (1) Jing-Chung & Da-bao were due to arrive on the same day – one in late afternoon, and one in early evening, (2) Jing-Chung arrived in late afternoon – opposite to what I originally estimated, hence, (3) Da-bao must be arriving in the early evening of 8/7. Equipped with that "impeccable" logic, I rushed the whole gang out for a dinner at a local restaurant, fully anticipating Da-bao's arrival way after the dinner. (That, plus I really enjoyed making Da-tou pay for dinner/lunch/breakfast, etc.) Long story short, the whole gang slowly strolled back to Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan's farm, just to find Da-bao's whole family apparently arrived at an "empty door" earlier, waited for quit some time, and had no choice but to feed the kids first without Da-tou's financial support! Forgive my faulty memory my friends: I had only 8 hours of sleep over the passing two nights!

Luckily not enough damage was done because of my goofy brain cells: another fact-finding expedition immediately ensued upon classmates' convergence, a lot of which centered around which faculty members did what to whom, and which of us did what to them! Most of us (re)learned that our graduation dance was held in the Math Library, and I myself learned that we did have a graduation dance! And, how about that funky required course of Deutch in the sophomore year? I don't know about you, but I honestly have zero recollection of attending the class! I actually don't even recall passing it at all, though I must have somehow slipped through the professor's radar screen! As with the LA2005 Gathering, chatting marathon like this is always precious: the night was long, but never long enough! Mei-Chi and Jing-Chung finally gave in to their family members and went back to their respective hotels for some much needed rest; Da-bao also waved white-flag and retired with his entire family near midnight. I chatted more with Da-tou and Yeh-Geun deeper into the night/morning in Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan's basement before finally gave in to fatigue – 3 hours of sleep that night for us, but we would have pulled a whole-nighter had it not for the fact that we are no longer twenty-something!

... 8/8/2006 ...

This was the main TN 2006 Gathering day. Coincidentally, it was also Da-tou's birthday. Da-bao's family rose early, refreshed and eager for action. (Except, of course, for his teen-aged son Gregory! Can't blame Gregory here: we were all like that ourselves at that age, weren't we?) Jing-Chung's family also emerged early, ready for action. Yeh-Geun and I, still sleepy-eyed, had no choice but to follow Yung-Way's lead and accompanied the whole gang down to the little creek at the far end of the farm. The short outing proved eventful: lots of crawfish to catch, a few mysterious hard-to-catch fish, lots of fist-eyed cows mooing around us, complaining about our intrusion to their only source of water! Mei-Chi/Hseuh-Chia and Da-tou joined the gang as the kids played with the neighboring farmer's two lonely horses and mule, feeding them with Yung-Way's pear tree leaves - all furnished by me, the real tree killer! More pictures were taken before we all headed back to Chung-Yuan's kitchen for more civilized treats.

Although we male classmates all vowed not to make Da-tou's turning 50++ the main theme of the TN 2006 Gathering, some of our soft-hearted female classmates still managed to prepare some champagne and b-day cake for the occasion! (Perhaps the ladies knew Da-tou is a gentle puppy all along, but were never willing to admit it!) Either way, I did manage to augment the wordings on the cake from "big-head" to "dog-head," more closely reflecting the reality that he is a gentle puppy! Keyword being gentle, of course ;-) Chienli's family finally arrived around 10 pm, completing the TN 2006 Gathering circle, and just in time for the fascinating firework session in Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan's backyard. I couldn't even recall when was the last time I played with firework – 40 years ago to say the least! After the firework session, the whole gang engaged in more fact-finding expeditions while we ate and drank, and ate more and drank more. The focus of this round of fact-finding centered around: who among the classmates did what to whom, who invited some "outsiders" to our freshman dance without whose blessing, who should have supported the camping trips in junior year but did not, ... In short, according to our female classmates, we male classmates were all dogs! Alas one thing is still true after so many years: never argue with your female classmates – they are all cats!

Jing-Chung and family left around midnight of 8/8: they had an early flight to catch the next morning, continuing their vacation trip to east coast. Jing-Chung promised to do his best in bring the whole family for the all-cast reunion in Taiwan next August! That was quite a pleasant surprise, given his busy work schedule and all! Hope to see you there Jing-Chung - and Brenda, and Jennifer, and Alison, and Christina! Mei-Chi and Hseuh-Chia left in the early hours of 8/9. They had a long drive back to Indiana ahead of them, and Mei-Chi apparently still demanded her beauty sleep after two straight near-sleepless nights! I must admit feeling a bit lost when Jing-chung and Mei-Chi left: with just two early departures, the TN Gathering headcount was suddently down by 7. If everything could go my way, I would simply outlaw any early departure from any Math77 Gathering from now on!

Yung-Way, Chi-Yen, Yeh-Geun and I continued to chat deeper into the night, while Chung-Yuan and Chienli – now the only cats around – wisely evaded the 4-dog crowd and went for their beauty sleep! (I could be very wrong here: the "cats" might actually be chatting somewhere else without us 4 dogs!) Yeh-Geun continued to reiterate how cats tend to constantly cast the dogs into the keeper/lover bins, Chi-Yen continued to assert dogs are smarter than the cats, and I continued to insist dogs are constantly casting the cats into the same two bins too! Please don't feel left out if you have no clue what I've just said: first, you've got to be there yourself, and, secondly, it was late and even the dogs themselves didn't know what exactly they were barking about! Also, please don’t get mad if you do know what I've just said: dogs just have to bark after a long day, justifiable or not!

... 8/9/2006 ...

This was the first day of our side trip to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Now I realized Mei-Chi's advanced planning: by leaving us early the night before, the mountain-going gang ended up having a longer sleep before the 3-hour drive to the mountain. I guess the self-proclaimed cheer-leading Mei-Chi will always be our default class leader no matter how much she cheers!

A total of 4 cars were used for the side trip: Da-bao's and Chienli's in their own family rental, Yung-Way/Chung-Yuan/Eddie rode in Chi-Yen's rental, and I rode with Yeu-Geun in his personal car. We managed to arrive at our 6-room cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the mid afternoon of 8/9. After some activity planning headed by Chi-Yen and Yeh-Geun, and some rock-paper-scissor on who's taking which room I must add, all of us followed Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan's lead and ate ourselves silly in a local Chinese buffet that they scouted out for us before we even landed our feet in Tennessee. And you can pretty much guess who foot the dinner bill – the gentle puppy, of course! After dinner, we dumped the young ones in a local arcade for some civilized entertainments, drove around Pigeon Forge (the little tourist town we're in) for a not-so-successful coffee hunt, and finally headed back to our cabin for some much needed catch-up sleep! Pulling a few whole-nighters in a row is one thing that I wish I could still do, but can't, these days! A window of opportunity for an overnight mahjong meet was missed as a result! (I'm pretty sure the presence of flower-planting Kai-Ching(開慶) would have changed all that! Bewarned Kai-Ching: some of us are now plotting on holding our future mini-gathering right at your door steps!)

... 8/10/2006 ...

This turned out to be a busy fun-filled day of our mountain side trip! Strongly urged by Yeh-Geun, we all went for white water rafting in the morning of 8/10. This was the first time I ever had fun rafting: the water was warm enough for me, and the rapids were not too drastic for my taste! I believed everybody, especially the young ones, had great fun doing it; and I would strongly encourage all classmates to call Yeh-Geun up whenever you're near the Great Smoky Mountain National Park!

The afternoon of 8/10 was spent on "climbing" the Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was a whopping 0.5 mile "hike" to the base of an observatory tower in the middle of Smoky Mountain. Only by standing on the top of that tower does one realize why there is a "Smoky" in the name of the national park. We did not engage in any serious hiking that day for various reasons: for the record, we had a special dinner show already lined up at 745 pm that evening; off the record, the youngsters weren’t too enthusiastic about hiking anyway. The truth that we did not really hike, however, was that more chatting could be done while eating, rather than hiking!

Yeh-Geun went his separate way after our Clingman’s hike around 630 pm: he had a 3-hour drive back to Georgia ahead of him, and he needed to clear the mountain areas before sundown as the fuel level of his car was really low! (He made it home in one piece!) Before parting the gang, however, Yeh-Geun pulled me aside and promised he will do his best to attend the all-cast reunion in August 2007. That really made my day: the more, the merrier I said! Hope to see you there Yeh-Geun – and Arh-Zeu, and the surfing daughter I must add!

The dinner show at Dixie Stamped was an interesting treat: it was like the medieval dinner show where knights were pitched against each others while the audience dined and cheered for their own knights, except here the North and South of the American Civil War replaced the knights! One thing I learned that might be of interest to you should you ever visit Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan’s turf: it’s a bit awkward cheering for the North in Tennessee! The food was great as long as you don’t mind licking most of them from your finger tips! The pouring rain right after the dinner show was another home-coming treat to me: it reminded me so much about the city I grew up in, with recurrent thunderstorms washing away the drenching heat every summer day! The storm lasted a whole lot longer than what I had experienced though, and we ended up driving back to the cabin in heavy rain, finding our once-dried rafting outfits wet all over again! The wetness didn’t damper the chatting spirit a bit: with fireplace on, and pitter-pattering raindrops in the woods, the fact-finding expedition continued deep into the night – less Yeh-Geun’s constant laugh-cracking punch lines! Some heart-to-heart exchanges inevitably occurred amongst old friends, and may I just say: what we all suspected true were true, and, yet, never the whole truth! As I had said too many times by now: all of these meant ~!@?`+#$%^& unless you were there yourself. (Eat that, Kai-Ching, you non-flower planter!) I went to bed in the early hours of 8/11, listening to Sarah M.’s moody tunes, and mesmerized by how tightly-knitted this Math77 gang of ours was, still is, and hopefully forever will be! I fell asleep in Sarah M.’s fitting words:

We all began with good intent when love was raw and young.

We believed that we could change ourselves, and past can be undone.

But we carried on our back the burdens time always revealed,

In the lonely light of morning; in the wounds that would not heal!

To all my old friends who still harbor any amount of awkwardness/bitterness/regrets: Time always heals if only you let it! (Or, should I say, if and only if? I’d better get off this chain of thoughts fast before Mei-Chi began to test my make-believe “mathematical prowess” again!)

... 8/11/2006 ...

The mountain-going gang arose early this day, fully recharged but a bit sad: this was the day Da-bao’s family had to leave early to catch their flight back to Oakland, California, and this was also the day Chienli’s family would spin off and continued their vacation trip to visit Ernie’s (Chienli’s hubby) college friends in Knoxville, Tennessee. Fair is fair: one gathering for her, and one for him! Hope you had a great time visiting old friends, Ernie, and please gently nudge Chienli toward attending her all-cast reunion in August 2007.

Da-bao’s family began their 200-mile dash for the airport around 9 am on 8/11. (They made it back to Oakland safe and sound - and just in time for another family outing to Lake Tahoe, if you can imagine that!) Yung-Way/Chung-Yuan, Chi-Yen, and I left the Great Smoky Mountain National Park around 11 am on 8/11, leaving the cabin checkout chores to Chienli/Ernie, and headed back to Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan’s farm. The drive back to the farm was a bit somber: the TN Gathering classmate headcount was now down to 4, and how could anyone not feeling a little bit sad? However, the fact-finding habit soon emerged, and the slight sadness was quickly cleared with totally unclear debates over who should have said something to someone, but did not, and who shouldn’t have done something to someone, but did! I, for the very first time in my entire TN Gathering stay, wasn’t quite sure what, if any, had been settled amongst the classmates in the front seats and back! Whatever that was, however, it sure made the drive back to the farm extremely pleasant for the driver - me!

The drive back ended with a big lunch at a local restaurant near Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan’s farm. I don’t quite recall who foot the bill other than that it wasn’t me! Whoever did pay, however, I must say: thank you - and the sugar-glazed salmon tasted great! We arrived at the farm after lunch around 1 pm Cookeville time. We chatted only a little more about the silly things we did in the college days as Da-tou had but one hour of break before making his 70-mile dash for the airport that very afternoon. Da-tou left us around 2 pm on 8/11 for his flight back to New Brunswick, New Jersey. The slight sadness returned with noticeable vengeance as the TN Gathering classmate headcount was now down to the bare minimum of 3: Yung-Way/Chung-Yuan and me! We chatted more into the night after a relatively light dinner as Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan scrambled to cut me a CD with all the photos captured in his camera over the passing week. Get to work my friends: I for one eagerly await photos from your camera! I went to bed around 3 am of 8/12, feeling pretty tired but not too tired to twist and turn till 4 am. Call me sentimental fool all you want, but I was darn sad and happy at the same time! (Rumor has it that this is a classic trait of mid-life crisis, don’t you think?)

... 8/12/2006 ...

I slept through most of the morning of 8/12 and broke my fast with a big lunch prepared by Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan. We chatted more about Rue-Yue before I left Yung-Way & Chung-Yuan's farm around 2 pm on 8/12. The weather was now more Hawaii than Taiwan: mild, sunny, and breezy. The far-stretching green was greener due to the overnight rain, and the fist-eyed cows were nowhere to be found, probably mooing around the hidden creek reclaiming their water source. I arrived at Nashville airport around 3 pm, returned my rental car, checked in my ought-to-be-carried-on-bag as luggage, and went through the security checkpoint without any incident. As I sat waiting by the departure gate, I turned on my little iPod, and out flowed Karen C.’s timeless melancholy tunes: Superstar, Rainy Days and Mondays, Yesterday Once More, For All We Know I ought to be sad, the unmistakable ending of the TN Gathering and all, but I was not. What those melancholy tunes triggered in me now were no longer some random distant memories. Now I thought of all the young and innocent players we all knew, I thought of all the silly things we all did, I thought of all the not-so-young and not-so-innocent players we still all knew, and I boldly said to you all: “It was all good, it is all good, and it will still be all good as long as we see ourselves for what we Math77 simply are: a chance encounter of young and innocent hearts who, by sheer luck and against grave odds, manage to reconnect thirty some years after!” I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t mind having a Math77 gathering like this every year! If that’s too much to bear, would you mind a mini- or even a micro-gathering every two years? If that is still too much too bear, would you then settle for a once-every-30-year gathering in August 10-12, 2007?

2005/09/29

LA 2005 Gathering, Recap


Album: LA2005 Gathering, Recap

Where: Tsai Kuang’s residence in Tustin, California, USA.

When: 9/28/2005 ~ 10/1/2005.

Who:

Mei-Chi (美琪), Yu-Teh (豫德), Chienli (茜莉), Tsai Kuang (蔡光), Yung-Way (永慰), Chi-Yen (), Zhi-Shun (之舜), An-Yu (安隅), Kai-Ching (開慶 ), Shiaw-Guang (孝光).

[The following article is taken from an e-mail from Tsai Kuang to Sying-Syang (興祥) on 10/12/2005, recapturing the coming and going of the LA2005 Gathering.]

Sying-Syang,

Here's the "report" that I owe you on the NTU_Math77 gathering on 9/29/2005 in LA. Be warned that it's just me thinking out loud and trying very hard to recall something that happened almost two weeks ago!

First, the nitty-gritty. The whole thing was started by a chance encounter between Yu-Teh(豫德) & Mei-Chi (美琪) at Calgary, Canada! They were both planning to attend their high school reunion which was scheduled from 9/30/2005 through 10/1/2005 on board a cruise ship that sailed from LA to Ensenada, Mexico, and back to LA. I guess the two ladies simply declared it's a good idea to rally the classmates in LA and have a gathering of some sort. Their plan of attack: call Jing-Chung (敬中)! Bad luck for Jing-Chung, who was on-hook for an out-of-town business trip during the targeted gathering time frame, he had no choice but to call me up. That phone call occurred on 9/9/2005, and the hot potato was passed into my hand! Thanks to Jing-Chung, who gave me two names, Yi-Lung (義隆) & An-Yu(安隅), and I easily secured their blessing and commitment for the gathering on 9/29/2009. (Yi-Lung had to go back to Taiwan on 9/14/2005 for teaching duty, and his wife, Ping-Ching(屏鏡), whom we bothered a lot when they were studying in UC Santa Barbara, ended up joining the gathering gang on his behalf.) I turned around and made contact with Zhi-Shun (之舜), Chi-Yen () and Chienli (茜莉), whom I more or less kept in touch throughout my years in USA, and they quickly jumped on board. Their action was critical: Chi-Yen had to fly 5 hours from New Jersey, Chienli had to fly 3 hours from Texas, and Zhi-Shun had to drive 6 hours from San Francisco! From that point on no arm-twisting was really needed: no one I called ever argued it's too far, and everyone I reached showed great interest in attending the gathering. Some of the classmates are unlucky, however, and cannot make it due to standing commitment. [Lung-Kee (隆基), for example, had to chair a PhD qualifying exam involving 12 students around the gathering time frame.] All said and done, we had a total of 10 classmates attending the 9/29/2005 LA Gathering: 3 ladies (Mei-Chi, Chienli, Yu-Teh), and 7 gentlemen (Zhi-Shun, Chi-Yen, An-Yu, Kai-Ching, Yung-Way, Shiaw-Guang, me).

Next, the gathering itself. With a few exceptions, most classmates attending the gathering had too short a time together. (This is something we must keep in mind when planning the 30-year all-cast reunion in 2007!) Exception #1: Zh-Shun & Chienli arrived early in the afternoon of 9/28/2005, so they and I had quite a few good long chatting sessions. Exception #2: Chi-Yen & Yung-Way left late in the afternoon of 10/1/2005, so they and I also had many good long chatting sessions.

Yu-Teh arrive around noon 9/29/2005, joining Zhi-Shun, Chienli, Chi-Yen and me for a quick Japanese lunch. (Zhi-Shun foot the lunch bill!) I then ran around town picking up Yung-Way and Shiaw-Guang from the local airport near UC Irvine and joined the other 4 early birds at my house. (These are the 7 "early arrivals" in Zhi-Shun's photo album.) Shortly after we took that early-arrival picture, it was Zhi-Shun's turn to run around town and picked up Mei-Chi who, another believe it or not, just finished giving a talk at UCI Math Department. An-Yu and Ping-Ching arrived at my door steps while Zhi-Shun was running around. (For the record: Mei-Chi ended up offering all of us a free lunch for not showing up to mess up her talk! This is something to remember when attending the 30-year all-cast reunion!) The complete convergence occurred around 630pm when Kai-Ching finally arrived. From that point on everything simply ran all by themselves: multiple parallel conversations over 15-dimension vector spaces was the only way I could describe what transpired! Around 8pm a bonfire was set in my backyard and the parallel conversations gained quite a few more dimensions. Old friends didn't seem to need (nor have) much snack or drink around the bonfire: everyone simply kept on chatting, and chatting, and chatting, as if there were no tomorrow! Alas, An-Yu, Ping-Ching and Yu-Teh had to leave around midnight - they all had a long drive back to earth! Kai-Ching also had to leave around midnight - he had a short drive, but with two young kids on his laps! The remaining die-hard 7 stood ground through the night and did yet more chatting. (One very spooky observation here: the more we sit around and chat about nothing important, the more long-forgotten memory of the good old days will surface!) The sun rose around 630am, and Zhi-Shun was soon back to running around town dropping off Shiaw-Guang at the local airport for his flight back to Seattle, and taking Mei-Chi back to Irvine for her must-have beauty sleep! The remaining 5 re-converged at my house for a much needed nap - we were all extremely sleepy by then! The nap was short though, and lots of coffee was involved here! Zhi-Shun started his home-bound drive north around 10am, and the remaining 4 (Chi-Yen, Yung-Way, Chienli and myself) started driving around 11am: waking up Mei-Chi from her beauty sleep, dropping off Chienli at LAX for her flight back to Houston, ate a fine lunch at a seafood restaurant at Redondo Beach King Harbor (Chi-Yen's treat again), and dropping off Mei-Chi at San Pedro for her cruise to Mexico! (For the record, since we almost missed Mei-Chi's boarding time and gave her a real good scare, it's only fair that she is now officially off the hook on the free-lunch offer!) At this point only three die-hard remained: Chi-Yen, Yung-Way and me. Before our eye lids completely gave way, we decided to eat out at a local Chinese restaurant - at Chi-Yen's expense again! (You've got to love this guy!) But there was more to come: Chi-Yen realized during dinner that he'd left his credit card at the Redondo Beach restaurant during lunch! Now what must be done must be done: all three of us, 6 sleepy eyes and all, drove all the way back to Redondo Beach, retrieved the credit card, strolled along the beach while chatting about a possible 2006 gathering, then drove all the way back to my house - the final arrival time was 1am on 10/1/2005! Thank goodness we had a good long nap till 10am that morning! Charged up with another round of coffee, we were up and running again: dropping off Yung-Way at the local airport for his flight back to Tennessee, and, lastly, dropping off Chi-Yen at LAX for his flight back to New Jersey. Overall I must admit I had the most fun among all the attending classmates: I was the only one who had FOUR whole days to relish the good old days with good old friends! True it was sleepy and tiring at times, but it was also a very, very enjoyable experience at all times!

Finally, some lessons learned & thoughts on 2007 all-cast reunion.

Lesson #1: Plan ahead - way ahead! This will minimize no-show due to conflict with standing commitments.

Lesson #2: Plan simple food. Anything to lengthen the chatting time outweighs everything else. Catering, or any zero-preparation-time food, is a good way to go.

Lesson #3: Plan whole-day gathering. The longer the merrier, but preferably all classmates must arrive at least one night BEFORE the main gathering date, and leave at least one night AFTER the main gathering date. Arriving, and in particular leaving, on "D-day" is to be avoided at all cost on every classmate’s own behalf!

Thought #1: Conduct a few local warm-up gathering. This has a magical effect on reminding everyone a simple truth: old friends are probably the only persons in the world with zero demand on us. Another magical effect: old friends are the best mirror of ourselves - thing they choose to do, or not to do, really illuminate things in our own little world. You may want to organize a few in Taiwan prior to the 2007 all-cast reunion! Satisfaction guaranteed!

Thought #2: The most logical place for the 2007 all-cast reunion is somewhere in Taiwan. (Dare we say the basement of NTU Math Department?) This will tend to maximize the attendance. Other locations mentioned were: Hawaii, California, Oregon, New Jersey, but all of these will require foreign travel for the classmates in Taiwan. You may want to have a little survey amongst the classmates in Taiwan, say during the aforementioned local gathering, on this particular point.

Thought #3: The most logical time frame for the 2007 all-cast reunion is in summer 2007. This is because a lot of our classmates probably have kids still at school age.

That's all for now. I really hope you can organize a local gathering in Taiwan soon, take a lot of pictures, and let me count the wrinkles for a change :-)


Keep in touch!

-Kuang

1997/08/16

1997 畢業二十週年溪頭行

相簿:畢業二十週年溪頭行

日期:1997/08/16 ~ 08/17

地點:溪頭

1997/08/16:

歷經半年來的聯絡和確證,去年底榮鎮兄提議的畢業20週年聚會終於成行,行前,遠洋中度颱風溫妮遙指台灣,幸好其腳步稍慢,不至於影響此次的聚會。

08/16 當天興祥一家四口(興祥、秀蕙、奕成、奕佑)、加上振芳 9:30 由台北森林公園出發,8:30 繁經載著美琪從南港中研院前行,三益帶著太太惠滿、女兒敬慈11:30 離開台南,永進、春凰夫婦和小孩品璁則從新竹出發。途中,永進兄因牙疼,路上順便看牙醫,春凰嫂也順便將玉牙清洗一番。三部車,在無事先刻意安排下,前後 不到半小時,於 2:30 至 3:00間,陸續抵達溪頭國民旅社,謝謝三益兄的安排,住房一切順利。安頓好行李後,限於時間關係,本預計開車前往神木,因受限於交通管制,最後改由步行 前往大學池,途中雨勢斷斷續續,時大時小,是典型的夏季山區氣候。途中,奕佑買了根玉蜀黍,甜美可口,推薦奕成也來一個,可惜回程時,小販已經收攤。

大學池佈置優雅,除了名符其實的大池塘外,外加三個小涼亭,一大一小的竹搭便橋,散步在上頭,好不舒暢。此時又下起大雨,在涼亭休息的時光哩,三益兄不離本 行,提出流傳在學術界未經證實的三等分角之作圖法,據他所知,可用Conformant Mapping 證之,如果是事實,數學界的三大難題又少了一個。

興祥憶及大三坪林露營,清晨振芳起床,抓了副黑鏡框眼鏡,戴得不合眼,以為半夜睡覺時, 壓歪了眼鏡,因而在營火上猛烤,設法要把眼鏡考回「原狀」,烤了十來分鐘,鏡框也差不多給烤熟了,三益兄起床找不著眼鏡,才發現原來給振芳烤得變了形,幸好眼鏡還堪戴用,振芳也在其床頭找回他真正的眼鏡。

旅社的裝潢,優雅典樸,內牆以木板為主,不加貼皮,留有典型的樹木節點,保有原野風味。旅社房間內,電視、盥洗用具、暖氣等樣樣不缺,然而毛巾只有小小兩條,臉盆、浴缸等有明顯裂紋,排水管也有漏水現象,是美中不足之處。床墊很硬,有家的味道,躺起來很舒服。

晚餐在距離溪頭森林遊樂區 7.5 公里的紫林莊,莊內擺設粗曠,一桌可坐上15人,椅子是原木的圓凳,桌面則是以原木為材料做成的大圓桌,菜色不失野味,包括高麗菜、山貓菜、龍鬚菜、箭 筍、溪魚、溪蝦、滷蹄膀、炸香蕉、土雞、冬筍等12菜2湯,鹹味稍重,頗為入飯,湯菜一掃而空。美琪對台灣啤酒特別喜愛,三益、繁經、興祥也都嘗了一些, 振芳、永進則早已經戒酒。

1997/8/17:

昨晚的二樓,相當吵,喝酒、聊天、打麻將,三益兄較敏感,被吵得受不了,下樓干涉後,並沒有太的的改善。他在床上無法成眠,直到天色微亮,黑夜漸漸遠離,在優雅的鳥叫催眠下,才逐漸進入夢鄉。

我躺在床上翻來覆去睡不著,決定起床開始記下此次旅行的種種,以為紀念。看看錶,五點不到,外頭一片漆黑,房內家人尚在睡覺,披上外衣,在大廳處找著了下筆 的桌椅和電燈開關。雖然不是很舒適,至少工具是齊全了。在寫作的過程中,天色漸漸放亮,大約是 5:30 光景,開始有了遊客活動的足跡。六點不到,終於也趕完了首日的記事。

約七點半,將奕成輕輕叫醒,秀蕙、奕佑不久也陸續起床,上午的溪頭森林頗清涼,踏出房們,湊巧三益一家也起床。在無事先約定下下樓,美琪已在漢光樓用餐,其西式早餐,勉勉強強滿足大家的需要。

神木是大家的共識,1500米沿溪而建的山路,對美琪無附著力的涼鞋造成頗大的不便,尤其在下坡路,必須有人參扶,否則極易滑倒。走了約一個半小時,在十點半,終於抵達神木區,2600年的歲月,帶來的是46米高的主體。

在無事先告知下,振芳不見了蹤影,三益似乎有印象振芳在廁所內,在敲們無反應,苦後又無人下,三益爬上相鄰的廁所,看個究竟,肯定振芳確實在裡面,由於蹲著 時,背朝門,無法感受門被三益大力敲打的感覺。焦急等候的夥伴,獲知三益的作法,莫不哄堂大笑,直到振芳出來,還無法停止。由於聽力不佳,又沒人願意做進 一步的解釋,結果是,當事人蒙在股裡,納悶大伙兒到底在笑些什麼。

此時,時間已晚,在溫妮颱風的威脅下,今天的行程受了些許擠壓,決定午飯後立即啟程。鹿谷全筍餐廳提供的午餐美味可口,八菜一湯 $2,000,經濟實惠。

午餐後,各奔前程,結束此次大學畢業後二十週年的聚會,是同學會,也是全家出遊的好日子。溫妮颱風步調剛剛好,不影響此次的聚會,回程風雨不至於太大,隔天週一放個颱風假,剛好可以好好休息一番。