Personal

It's personal, but please don't take it personally :D

Outside of research, I enjoy learning new languages. Currently, I am teaching myself Italian and Serbian. Previously, I spent a year studying German in secondary school and three months learning Cantonese in college. While I can’t hold a conversation in German at the moment, I hope to regain proficiency soon.

During free time, I am also a book lover. My eclectic interests in literature span across geographic origins and genres. In addition to Chinese and English works, I appreciate creations from Russian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Polish, and Japanese authors, particularly from the 19th and 20th century. According to a Chinese proverb, “There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes”: I find tremendous inspiration in works that may not always be appreciated by literary critics. Influenced by life events that occurred while reading, my top five picks are:

  1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1867)
  2. Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy (1899)
  3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866), The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante (2011-2014)
  4. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (1908)
  5. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (2011)

Although not an expert, I am a movie buff who find joy in all kinds of films created since the 1910s. I maintain online records for a fraction of movies I’ve watched, and might add reviews to this site in the future. Good movies are beacons for lost hearts in the darkest times, and my top 5 picks are:

  1. Forrest Gump by Robert Zemeckis (1994)
  2. The Shawshank Redemption by Frank Darabont (1994)
  3. The Pursuit of Happyness by Gabriele Muccino (2006)
  4. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Peter Jackson (2001 - 2003)
  5. Up! by Pete Docter (2009); Zootopia by Byron Howard and Rich Moore (2016); Finding Nemo by Andrew Stanton (2003)

I’m enthusiastic about music as well, and never get tired of exploring new songs. Classics (Chopin), film scores, and lyrical songs in the late 20th century are my favorites. My top 5 picks are:

  1. Forrest Gump Suite by Alan Silvestri (1994)
  2. End Title from the Shawshank Redemption by Thomas Newman (1992)
  3. Just When I Needed You Most by Randy Vanwarmer (1979)
  4. Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden (1997)
  5. San Francisco by Scott McKenzie (1967); Running on Empty by Jackson Browne (1977); Anne’s Theme by Hargood Hardy (1988)

Since childhood, I have been eager to explore the culture and landscapes of other countries. Due to financial and time constraints, I have developed a hobby of “tele-traveling”: using online resources (and my imagination) to travel without physically being there. Some places I love and really want to visit are (no particular order):

  1. Upstate New York (USA): Ithaca, Skaneateles, Watkins Glen, Canandaigua
  2. Singapore
  3. Maine (USA): Mount Desert Island, York Harbor, Lubec
  4. Alaska (USA): Sitka, Seward, Homer
  5. Prince Edward Island, Canada
  6. Dunedin, New Zealand
  7. Canberra, Australia
  8. Europe: Serbia (Novi Sad), Italy (Naples, Trieste, Sardinia), Romania (Cluj Napoca), Greece, Finland, Norway, Denmark
  9. China: Hong Kong, Suzhou (JS), Yueyang (HN), Fenghuang (HN)
  10. India: Bihar, Bangaluru

You might get baffled by my lists of favorites, but understanding the stories behind helps make sense of them. I welcome discussions about my interests while chatting in person :)