Chuck Lin

Life in a fish bowl

Gonna be a tough week

I started driving soon after MOLI.com closed. These photos are taken somewhere in New Mexico. It was one of these forgotten highways whose days have passed since new interstates were built. I didn’t see any cars or gas stations. I was looking for an old spanish missionary I found on google maps. I had a GPS, coordinates, and time. I was lost but also was not lost. I stopped at the proper GPS location but was unsure since there were no road signs. Unsure of where that road lead, but undaunted, I got back in the car and took the turn.

The road continued a while until I reached my destination. The bewildered park ranger asked me how I found the place. Someone else had come here before me, took a photo and left a marker on google maps.

Salinas Pueblo National Monument. I don’t think you can be any more middle-of-New-Mexico than this.

Writer’s block

It’s been a while since I wrote something meaningful on this blog. I sat down with the intention of writing something profound, but nothing comes to mind. So I just start typing. It’s a trick from Finding Forrester,  and On Writing by Stephen King. Click click click click. Something is bound to come.

I can talk about the social research found on OKCupid’s blog, which shows how Asian men have virtually no shot on a dating site, but that might seem to self absorbed. I can write about how Asian women prefer white and black men over Asian men, but that might seem to bitter.

So instead, I’m going to write about one beautiful day in Utah.

David Ewing told me about this place. A giant sculpture in the middle of nowhere at the border between Utah and Nevada. “You can’t miss it”, he says. I drove out of Salt Lake City with absolutely no idea where its located, but I have faith.

It was a crisp day, but inside the Mini I can only hear the wind whipping across, nudging the car off the road. It seemed like I could see a hundred miles ahead, with no landmarks to mark the passing of the terrain. I stopped a few times to take in the incredibly barren landscape, setting up my tripod each time so I can snap a quick photo.

After what seemed like an entire day of driving, I finally see the tree in the distance. From a distance, it looked like a bean sprout.  As I get closer, there are signs along the road telling motorists not to stop at the sculpture. An empty threat of a traffic ticket for non-emergency stops was posted where I pulled off the road. I can see forever in both directions and for now, the fuzz is nowhere in sight.

I drove along the dirt path to the gates surrounding the sculpture. There is no raison d’être, which made its situation in the desert more apropos. I set up my tripod once again to take some photos. I have found something that wasn’t lost, that had no purpose, in the middle of nowhere and I can’t remember why its so important for me to come. It’s beautiful.

Today I thank:

Jill – Great to see her again

Dr. Laser – Jason is one of the funniest, smartest person I know

Jason from work – Thanks for trying to keep my spirits up

Reefkey – I’m glad he points out the stupidy

Jesse – A good guy and my lawyer