Quote of the day

Background: driving around with my 16yo after lifting weights. A discussion is going on about being right and wrong and whether people are willing to admit to being wrong. I think more about the subject and offer my 'One good thing about my playing go is that I have learned to be more humble.'



My darling son replies 'Well, if playing go makes you humble, you should play much more go!'

Before I Post Any Games

I had to share this picture which my friend gottago sent to me. All thanks to the durians my friend tillydilly got for me. It's wonderful to have good friends, who are willing to drive for hours on end with durians in car.



What is a durian, you ask? Well, it is generally considered the King of Fruits, at least by people without a sense of smell. It is a tropical fruit which grows on trees. One durian is the size of a bunch of coconuts, and totally covered in spikes. It uses those spikes to jump out of trees and kill people. How can one not love a fruit like that?

The durian has been described as "A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes. Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acid nor sweet nor juicy; yet it wants neither of these qualities, for it is in itself perfect. It produces no nausea or other bad effect, and the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop. In fact, to eat Durians is a new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience. ... as producing a food of the most exquisite flavour it is unsurpassed."

Of course, other people aren't as in favor of it, and wrongly describe it as "... its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia."

An Indonesian go friend told me about them, and of course, a few years ago, I had to find one to try. I loved it!

Anyway, last weekend, Sean got two for me. I told people about them, and opened them on Monday morning. The reactions were interesting. More people than I expected were willing to try it, but there were a lot who stayed far away from it. Weird.

There were remainders, so I gathered them up in a ziploc bag to take it home. I made Bill promise not to tell Rich I had them in the car with me. I mean, some information is better not shared. We hadn't been on the drive for more than ten minutes, when Rich goes 'Karen!'. I had the feeling that I knew what he was going to ask. His tone of voice cued me into what he might be referring to. 'Did you bring any durian?!?!' Geez, it was in a ziploc bag, how could I know his sense of smell was so good????? I made up for it by sharing the durian with my carpool mates, some for Lihu's mom, some for Bill's wife, and some for Rich's goat...

Now if only I could get someone to bring a mangosteen to those workshops!

Back Home

Last night, I came home from an awesome weekend, filled with the best friends, awesome food, lots of laughter, good wine, and oh, we played go too.



Some highlights:

• The beautiful weather;
• The walks;
• The fantastic food;
• The exciting games;
• Survivor Go;
• The joys of durians;
• The midnight walk;
• The camaraderie;
• The aikido at the lake;
  
  
  
  
• The simul which caused much weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth;
• Hanging out with good friends, both old and new ones;
• The fresh lychees;
• Laying on the grass, gazing at the stars, enjoying the lake and the people around me;
• The 1 am seven person rengo;
• The trash talking;
• Did I mention the food? ;
• The late night sipping of good port and sharing stories;
• The geocaching;
• The picnic at the cemetery.

Everything about the weekend was excellent. More details to follow later, have to go lift some weights first.

Moving Into a Cave

I really should stop having a life and move into a cave.
With a goban.
And internet.
So I can mindless web surf instead of study. Wait... Never mind.



Still trying to get through all ten counting lectures before tomorrow. Showing myself being both an overachiever and an optimist. It would be easier without ten handicap stones (three extra kids today) and too many shiny things in my inbox and my house. Stuck at lecture seven for the last five hours.



Maybe I will have to throw clothes in a suitcase too at some point, or at least go books.

Two Days

Only two days till I will leave. I baked brownies to take (hi cyne ^^)



I would like to tell about all the hard studying I did to prepare for the workshop, but I would be lying. Working my way through the counting lectures in preparation, I just wish my life wouldn't keep interfering.



Will be a great weekend!