No freedom in fleadom

I'm blogging about fleas to humor myself rather than scare/disgust readers (no dead bug pic will be shown). In fact, I've been battling fleas for 2 months ever since we made the big move from the golden state to the lone star ranch. And the result? Long live the fleas.

Here's my new understanding of Texas which has several prominent features including but not restricted to: guns, pick-ups & pests. Disclaimer: Just a joke. Don't shoot me, Texans.

On the bottom right is a cartoon of our main subject today, fleas. Their eyes are drawn so innocently big.. I did wonder once if their eyesight is better than mine (or if they 'see' at all). Biologists, please throw them a flea chart and read off the bottom line.

Story 1: What is it?
Rewind memory to 2 months ago, one week after we moved into the apartment. I discovered tens of glaringly red, scratch-to-death itchy bites on both foot. Subconscious scratching will set them 'on fire'. These bites turn into pustules within days. Initial suspects include fire-ants and bed bugs but quickly ruled out as I caught live a sesame sized jumper and contained it in a zipper bag for further identification. I quickly learned to distinguish fleas from bed bugs. The former is a six-legged insect while the latter is eight-legged, a relative of spiders. You can't actually count their legs with naked eye (Unless you squash them? So far I find fleas to be super squash resistant.Their skeletons are worth a thorough mechanical study.) One conclusive feature is that fleas jump and bed bugs don't. 

Story 2: Nature's wonder
Fleas came a long way from evolution perspective (Here's a Nature article pointing them to Jurassic period). I totally respect how they survive till today. A powerful spring mechanism enables them to jump 18cm vertically or 33cm horizontally (almost 165 times their body size). That's equivalent of me (1.56m) jumping 257m. Two Jumps to finish off a 500m race in 2 seconds, yeah!

Story 3: Smart bitches
Normally the bites are concentrated beneath the knee, especially around ankles because I guess that's how far they jump on an average day. I started to wear socks and long pants which seemed to work for a while until these blood-thirsty souls attacked me around neck/chest/arm. They are certainly high achievers who finally scale the summit called 'unreachable bare skin'. Do they do triple jumps 'boing boing boing', or employ combined tactics like jump-cling-crawl? If you are lucky enough to catch one in action, quickly snatch it up between fingers and drown it in water. That's the only sure way to kill. Anyhoo, I've decided to wear a 'Yemeni scarf' at home for head to toe protection. Can't wait to see when and how they outsmart me.

Another thing is, after 3 successive Raid bombs, the fleas have grown resistant. Some learned to seek 'bomb shelters' inside hollow lamps or underneath table tops. Insecticide sprays do no more than choking myself to a slow death, while fleas emerge from shelters stronger and livelier!

Story 4: Winning a battle, losing a war.
Checklist of elimination methods
✓ Sprays/Bombs
✓ Vacuuming every other day (Everyone says it works, but do you actually SEE the progress? )
✓ Diatomaceous earth powder/salt (Again no visual evidence it actually works.)
✓ Soapy water trap (On average 10-15 fleas caught every night, and night after night, and after...)
✓ Natural repellents: lemon oil/ chinese herb Baibu soaked in alcohol / lime oil. (a big NAH)

✓ Professional pest control (Is it money for value?)

There's bound to be some crack/crevice that chemicals can't reach. I suspect they even come from possible 'cat lady' neighbours through shared walls, or the vents.

Even pest control company was clueless. 'No carpets. No pets. It's weird. There's nothing I could do for you.'  What a 'professional' death sentence.

Story 5:Loss of innocence
The impact of fleas is not simply physical, but deeply psychological. However, there is no 'flea rehab' to check in.  I see different pictures. What used to be a healing world of green green grass, cute dogs and cats, fluffy stuffed animals or exquisite carpets has now turned into a single menacing word 'FLEA', or a loud warning sign 'FLEE'.  Sometimes I even mistake tiny freckle as flea. This is paranoia, not life.

Even if netizens insist that continuing the routine of vacuuming/powder/spray/trap will eventually lead to triumph, I've simply grown tired of it all. I could have enjoyed a simple day sipping coffee and reading books. Such mentality is in a close way, similar to a late stage cancer patient ready to give up on chemo therapy and 'live normal'. I'm obviously taking a simple matter to an extreme, but I wonder whether I should just try less hard, live in peace with a few fleas and call it a day.

Dwelling on the past

“Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Watched the movie last week and the ending where the all time famous quote 'boats against the stream' rolled out, I thought about Jady's blog title. I also thought about how I never sat through this great novel before. Maybe now 30 just like Nick Carraway in the story, it's the right time to revisit this literary classic.

As for the movie, the visuals are stunning and there's not an ounce of unwanted fat on the storytelling. Baz Luhrmann knows how to add the right touch to a love story. 'Be sure to watch it in 3D' was the advice we got before heading to theatre and gladly we heeded (only complaint is the sorry size of the screen).

Seeing how Gatsby is 'betrayed' by Daisy, LM is grumpy that feminine creatures are unfathomable lies that bring the death of good-hearted men. I honestly feel that his 'over reaction' is quite honest. If any consolation, I reassured him Daisy is just a symbol of post-war American dream, a bubble to burst. Or she could be 'the past' that Gatsby so resiliently wanted to relive. Anyway, it often seems any attempt to escape into the past is bound to disappoint because our memories are heavily retouched with special effects, like a plain looking girl before and after make-up. Even if the object is the same, the subject has changed with time. Woody Allen says it all in Midnight in Paris.

Perhaps ironically, people's addiction to the 'past' is the reason why this novel became popular not IN Fitzgerald's time but AFTER his death, and so goes the case with a bunch of other things.

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

I'm gonna highlight 'beat on' instead of 'into the past'.

Carey Mulligan in Vogue's 2013 May issue. Dreamy ain't it ;)

薄荷遇难史

两个月前在Sprouts买了一小盆儿薄荷，和国内的常见薄荷不太一样，叶子上有绒毛，镶白边，清凉味也不那么强烈。这个pineapple mint品种的老家是欧洲，多毛也不奇怪啦。买来是想吃它的，可以做摩洛哥薄荷茶、薄荷菠萝、mojito种种，那就先养肥再收割吧，于是置之一边任其发展。放养1个月不见长势，根部叶子枯黄凋零，大概是盆太小了无法伸展？这货喜欢扩张地盘，根部能扎到很深。于是我又去nursery抗了一大袋盆栽土和一个25厘米口径的陶盆给它安新家，原本狭小的塑料盆里根部都绕了好几圈了，果然是空间不够限制生长了啊。移完盆看小样（因为被岁月折磨的略枯黄，确切说是老样）在风中摇曳嘚瑟，再撒点水给它洗个澡好不舒服，心想这样该成了吧，迅猛往上窜吧~~~

然后然后，杯具发生了。其实我估计杯具一直都在，只是今天大爆发了，或者是咱今天鬼使神差的痴迷的盯着薄荷盯出来了。。 好多芽尖啊，心里美滋滋，凑近欣赏~~~ 再近一点儿~~ zoom in & in & in & 我靠！！！ 一簇簇芝麻粒裹着丫杆一动不动的，蚜蚜蚜蚜蚜蚜蚜蚜蚜蚜蚜虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫虫 (plural)！！！呀啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊！！ 芽灭爹！！！怪不得老是有枯黄的叶子，摘一片多一片除也除不净 T__T

赶紧google 'kill mint aphids'各种关键词组合，有意无意浏览了各种密集恐怖的蚜虫肖像。。。（呕）顺带复习了高中生物，神马phloem, xylem， 最后在网民们的智慧指引下，调制凶猛洗碗液狂喷蚜虫集散地，屠杀嫩蚜青蚜老蚜无数。我家可怜的薄荷555，你受苦啦。某网民说肥皂水还是肥料，但我还是担心肥皂水会不会损伤薄荷，希望它能逃过一劫。也有天然食物链疗法，可以买活瓢虫（我也是最近才知道有live ladybug可以买），但听说过不了多久虫虫又会崛起。蚜虫一年能有10多代，繁殖能力超强（某些种还能无性繁殖）一个排能迅速变一个团。想想都起鸡皮，必须密切观察一个礼拜。

估计是这样的，移栽前蚜虫就有了，但数量不多没被发现。移栽后新土养分过甚一下子把薄荷给喂肥了，蚜虫吸饱了汁液也大爆发。

继而担心plant lice会不会变hair lice，貌似不会。

顺便明白了另一件事，有时候走过大树下会被黄色的粘状液体滴到，车窗上也会有。这不是鸟屎，也不是花粉，是蚜虫便便。right, aphid poo. 但不是普通意义上的大便，是蚜虫分泌的honeydew。。。 哎呀，谁要好奇可以尝尝也无妨，应该是甜的吧，我就pass了。

祈祷我家薄荷能挺过风暴。

 

刚买来时的青葱小样儿

 阳台四人帮

 搬新家鸟~~

乱草丛中花骨朵，会是什么颜色的花呢~~~

周末流水账（二）

LM often drains my left-over tea in several big gulps after coming home from lab, and often he exhales an enlightened 'ahh' to hint his thirst has been quenched and the tea is good. However a recent adventure with Tazo Earl Grey turned his eyebrows into a painful knot. “好难喝，就像在喝风油精” quote. In case anyone wonders where the oil part comes from, earl grey is a type of black tea infused with citrus oil, or lavender as hinted on Tazo package.

I'm planning to try a proper English style tea house on weekend.Yes, guess we are paying handsome money to get ourselves tortured to a degree way more damaging than Earl Grey. 'Annvita' tea boutique（安薇塔）is all over China now. There's one in Suzhou SIP but their scorns and sandwiches aren't exactly fresh made. The Chinese and British share a lot in common when it comes to making a huge fuss over tea and tea related etiquette, like the order of steps, how to hold a teacup, where to place your hands etc. There are significant differences too. We like tea in its pure fresh form without the addition of milk, sugar or lemon. Besides, an English afternoon tea is more like a dessert break than just tea.

Back to Part 2 of weekend stumble upons - Salk Institute and Gliderport.

Salk Institute is literally in the backyard of where LM works but we only checked it out recently. It's rare to find 'architecture tour' listed on a research institute's front page (it's actually a great idea and an easy one to execute). The architecture at Salk is a statement in itself. I would have gone a second time INSIDE instead of circling outside like a thief since the gate was closed on weekend.

To give a bit of background (or you can read from the school's website), Salk was envisioned by its founder Jonas Salk, M.D. and designed by architect Louis Khan in the 60s. Usually the accolade is bestowed on the architect but I have to say Party A is as important as Party B as the former lays the foundation for the latter in every way. It would be insufficient to delineate Salk as just the scientist by trade.  (Nor would it be sufficient to label Steve Jobs as a business man. his vision for a ring-shaped apple HQ in Cupertino poses threatening challenge to engineers and architects - not a single straight window!)

Love the choice of materials, especially teak windows and travertine flooring. Travertine is warm to touch and it's got breathing holes reminiscent of fossils.

A nice video from fellow youtuber who took really awesome pics of the building.

Louis Khan: Silence and Light (exerpt)

You wouldn't think Salk was built in the 60s given this minimalistic concrete structure that easily blends into contemporary trend. Its symmetrical layout and 'unfinished' concrete blocks even gives a futuristic robotic presence. But on second thought, the giant courtyard with rectangular blocks flanking it almost resembles an archaic Roman temple except the columns are now functional working units (labs actually, and poor researchers stuck in lab). Exuberant lighting fills the huge space giving it a ceremonial facade where you have to lift your head to marvel at the sky and clouds caught in its frame. In Chinese terms, the building has good feng shui. It overlooks a small chasm where Gliderport is located on the other side.  We heard there were fatal accidents at Gliderport. We did come up close to see gliders taking off the cliff. They look like dandelion seeds blown off the coast. Two 'seeds' barely rubbed shoulders as we watched on with sweaty palms... I have to be earth bound to feel secure. Air sports is probably the last thing on bucket list.

周末流水账（一）

昨天在家烧了条剁椒鲫鱼，放了一大把红辣椒把我俩华丽丽的放倒了，感激涕零，无语凝咽。我是标准鱼盲，这儿的华人超市里只认得仓鳊鱼、三文鱼等常见品种。Tilapia的中文注释是游水立鱼（其实是某类非洲鲫鱼），反正是一群黑呼呼的在水缸里翻腾的活鱼，长的像是能吃的，又是活的，足矣。吃到一半我们讨论起盘里的是公是母（毁尸后尸检？），LM说有可能看孔是三瓣还是几瓣，因为蟋蟀就是看屁屁上有几根刺儿的，由此类推。。。当然是无厘头咯。

上周六下午先去了LUX art institute，在网上看到那里有artist in residence项目，就是邀请艺术家入住一到两个月进行实地创作。地方比我想象的要小很多，就一个很简单的展厅，同时也是艺术家的画室，参观者可以亲临创作现场观察过程。过程有时候比成品要神秘有趣的多，特别是你想知道技法和灵感来源的时候，但不是所有人都愿意分享的。馆内志愿者是个热情的老太太，跟我们聊了很久。当时就我和LM两个人在参观，算是被“盯”上了吧。LM换了各种僵硬的姿势听解说，可以想象他理科生的细胞此时在默默尖叫“神马时候是个头啊！！” 哦活活，我太腹黑鸟。还顺道参观了艺术家住的地方，麻雀虽小五脏俱全的一室一厅，设计很有品味，落地窗望出去是油画般的田园风光。这时LM来劲了，说快申请快申请~~~ 可惜咱不会画画。。

展厅前的小花园摆了几张烧制的红砖椅，圆墩墩的乖巧样奇妙的勾起了食欲，Bacon？烤面包？坐着有点扎，但土墩吸足了阳光的暖气，屁股黏上就不想走了。如果。。。 （又开始白日梦了）。。如果我有自己的花园，我要种上许多许多鲜美的宝石花，叶肥多汁的，油亮亮的，巨大一朵的。。。

看完LUX去附近的san elijo lagoon兜了一小圈，鸟儿的天堂啊，有红肚皮黄肚皮大的小的胖的瘦的叫声很嗲的叫的很吵的，总之名字一个都叫不上T_T （话说当地人随便抓一把都是业余动植物学家哦）。鸭妈妈带着俩小绒鸭在水塘边溜达，小鸭子一身嫩毛特别可爱，没风也在哆嗦的那种让人无比心疼的可爱，我们stalk了好一会才恋恋不舍的走开。没走多远突然听见一阵扑腾声，鸭群蜂拥从草间逃窜而出，大的溜的贼快，留下两只绒球在后头啪嗒啪嗒的努力追赶还是落下了好长的距离。我们愤愤责怪鸭爸鸭妈弃子的无耻行为，好在不多会儿它们就折回来失物认领了。

空气里带着潮湿海水的印迹，风吹、鸟鸣、草木悉索，对面火车沿着天边一直线缓慢远去。

在杂草丛中瞥见错落有致的橘红天堂，圆滚滚的金钱草般叶子颇有喜感。同事说这花国内也有，叫旱金莲，在阳光充裕的西藏能爬到两层楼高且花香四溢。多有生命力啊，将无趣的空间铺满。

最后去了一家叫Ducky Waddle's Emporium的二手书店，老板是个语速很快头路清晰的老爷爷，据说阅卷无数学识渊博（似乎每个牛叉的书店必备一个牛叉的老板，哪怕只是满足文艺青年的无理憧憬）。对hardcore书虫来说二手书店绝对是可以宅上一辈子的圣地啊，对我这种伪文艺青年来说纯粹想重温一下feel，一头扎进催人入眠的书香气里（温暖的霉味），然后怀旧的想着这样的存在会和黑胶碟般慢慢变考古证据吧。待了很久也没看中哪本书，觉得就这样离开有点对不住热情的老板，我们就象征性的挑了本83年10月的国家地理，LM的出生月。结账时老板说1刀，我们奔溃了。“那你们以为多贵呢？I won't even charge tax on that” 老板笑了。因为没找到我出生月的那期，老板还让我们留下联系方式说找到了会告诉我们，真热心。

陌生又亲切

时隔数年，我回到了老窝。喜欢这个域名，以及这略为青涩但还算原创的巧克力薄荷绿配色。虽然这个域名让我发工作邮件时略为尴尬（特别是对方重复确认email，是天堂。。猪圈。。吗？），也虽然这个背景配色以现在的审美来看总是差了半个音准。不管怎样，博主已经踏上奔四的大道，青葱岁月啊在以前的乱文里闪耀着，跟我有关无关都无所谓了。想到高晓松的《如丧》，作为《晓说》的忠实观众我还真去买了，翻了几页觉得这这这这这是同一个矮大紧吗？既称如丧，还是将那段岁月埋了吧。

删了好多边栏links，大家都转战微博了，不许超过300字！谁还写长文啊，手都嫌眼慢，来不及往下翻。还删了关于GC的一切一切，眼睛都不带眨的。首先他们在经历了13年的长跑后解散了，其次我已经不再迷恋他们了。淡漠发生在解散前，所以并无情殇。感谢GC伴我度过青葱，留下kaleidscope和soundscope两块砖就够了。

又开始看supernatural了，09年追了1季多，现在重头看和新的一样，谁说健忘不是幸福？ 哈哈。看过的书，听过的故事，一过记忆缓存期限再次品味可是原厂出品状态，一切归零。这杯子永远都是空的啊，等待接受新知识。哎，同理大学三年学的专业技能也一样，啥都不记得了，这就不太幸福了，太不幸福了。为什么不能像骑车游泳一样终身有效呢？ 肢体的记忆远比大脑可靠。

从1月底来美国已经三个月了，没有朋友圈（网络的不算），天天宅在家，周末两天出去玩。有时候觉得还不错，有时候觉得快疯了，这和蹲局子有区别吗？区别在于我还是可以“出去”的，但是像蔡康永某首打油诗里写的“听说世界很大啊，就到街头张望了好几分钟，结果也并没有什么地方可以去”。反过来读就好了，没有什么地方可以去，就到街头张望了好几分钟，听说世界很大啊~~~ 负能量快快滚吧。

国内地震，我和LM给①捐了一点点，也还是不太相信国内的任何大型组织。红十字彻底丧失民心了，①能有多专业多透明呢，还有待观望。汶川地震后建起的抗8级地震房屋各种裂痕，新闻上却闪现“安然无恙”。真的是很好笑，官方不报就算了，一报反而让你知道真相只差一个不，纯属此地无银三百两。在谎言的国度里，信任是个毛。

 A nice MV to share