Above the Clouds: Climbing Mt. Fuji

There's a particular kind of quiet that settles in once you're standing above the clouds, and I found it somewhere past the seventh station on Mt. Fuji. The climb began at the Fuji-Subaru Line Fifth Station, gateway to Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, on a cool, misty morning. Before setting off, I passed through a bright red torii gate to a small shrine among the pines — a reminder that this mountain has drawn pilgrims for centuries. The trail climbs through forest before the trees give way to volcanic rock and roped switchbacks. By the seventh station, weathered mountain huts like Tomoekan dot the route, offering a place to rest and refuel before the next push. Higher still, the clouds fell away entirely. Standing on a narrow ledge with huts on one side and an ocean of white below was the moment that made the climb worth it — that quiet privilege of being above the weather instead of under it. Along the way, a horse carried supplies up the rocky, misty trail, a reminder of how these huts survive. Mt. Fuji reveals itself in transitions — forest to rock, cloud to clear sky — each station marking not just elevation, but a shift in the mountain's mood.

Hiking the Tefulye Ancient Trail: Taiwan's Hidden Forest Gem

2026/815

Revisit the highest point of mountain road in Taiwan (Wuling)

I drove my EV up to Wuling (武嶺) on Hehuan Mountain (合歡山) today. The last time I was here was probably 23 years ago. It was cool and refreshing — a perfect escape from the summer heat. I met many people enjoying the mountain scenery, arriving by bike, scooter, motorcycle, and car. Revisiting places like this is one of the things I want to do before I retire from NCNU in Puli.

ICDEL 2026 conference recognition

 Received the best presentation recognition.

A book just read

 

A book that keeps readers reading without stopping. 

Vietnam trip

 Visit Hanoi Vietnam again. It was excellent experiences to explore the natural wonders of Ha Long bay and The Trang An Landscape Complex.

 

Thanksgiving

 

Created by Nano Banana

Surgery experiences

 Illness is part of life. Most people experience illness in their lives, so they may get treatment from doctors. I have had two surgical treatments in my life so far. When I was a child, I was sick frequently.  During the 70s and 80s, doctors liked to prescribe injections for patients, so my hips got shots pretty often. When I went to elementary school, I realized that my two legs could not stick close while squatting. I had a Gluteus maximus contracture because of over-injections. This symptom was widely noticed during that time. I told my parents, and they took me to NTU Hospital to get surgery.  That was my first surgery. My second surgery took place in 2024. I had shoulder and neck pain for a couple of years. The neurologist arranged an MRI scan of my neck, and he found a cervical spine problem. I decided to get surgery in August 2024 because of persistent pain. I had an ACDF surgery to remove herniated discs (C4-5-6). These two surgeries were all related to bones.

A book just read

 I just finished reading this book. It was written by a student who graduated from NCNU. Her writings reflected what she thought through interacting with people in real life. 

Adobe Photoshop certification

 Finally, I got the most wanted ACP recognition. I completed Dreamweaver, Flash, Illustrator couple years ago. 

Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025

 2024 is one of the most critical years in my life. I had major surgery since I was 13.  It is a warning for me, and I need to change my lifestyle: work less and rest more. Also, I had a chance to revisit the UK and witness the Japanese emperor near Buckingham Palace.   I need to pay attention to my son and daughter in the coming year. They are teenagers and encounter much pressure from school and peers.  In short, keep healthy and spend more time with family.  

Sunset on December 31st, 2024.

Cervical Spine Surgery

 I had C-spine surgery on Aug. 29th at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. It was the second major surgery in my life so far. Hopefully, I can make a full recovery and stay healthy.

position of surgery

The room I stayed for 5 days.

Window view of the room.

A book just read

 

It is a good book to understand "溝通分析（Transactional Analysis）".

Feb. 29th, 2024

 I did so many things for the unique day. It's 2/29, and you just can have it every four years.

Taipei 101 New Year's eve fireworks

 

Finally, I decided to pretend to be young man. My kids and I went to Taipei 101 to join the countdown fireworks party on Dec. 31st, 2023.

A book just read "Atomic habits"

 Cultivating small habits can bring huge changes. 

 

End of summer recess 2023

 Last day (Sep. 10) of 2023 is the end of summer recess.  Weather is bad. It has been raining a lots since typhoon Haikui hit Taiwan last week. My son, Eason, is going to take entrance exam next year. I hope he can put more efforts in his study. In the future, he can go to study at a prestige university, and have a successful career. My daughter, Audrey, becomes a junior high school student.  Hope things go great for her on her new adventure. This picture was taken at swimming pool on Sep. 9th.  

End of Sabbtical

One year sabbatical finally comes to the end. It was good to have free time to do things that I planned to go during past years. In this half year period, I finished some important things. I would like to mention as follows: 

1.  Went to the States to collect research data and visit old friends. 
2.  Took 2 computer classes to update Photoshop and HTML&CSS skills. 
3.  Wrote an journal article (accepted). 
4.  Wrote a book chapter. 
5.  Finished two research reports. 
6. Attended a virtual conference (6th International Conference on New Trends in Teaching and Education, Brussels, Belgium | 26 - 28 May 2023). 
7.  Participated in two days ChatGPT and AI workshop(16 hours). 
8.  Left eye PTK surgery. 
9.  Travel to Japan with two kids (group tour).                                                                                          In addition, I spent more time to arrange after-school classes for my kids. My daughter started to get Orthodontic treatment. Hope things will go well for me when the new semester begins.

 

Photo therapeutic Keratectomy (PTK) Surgery

I had Photo therapeutic Keratectomy (PTK) surgery on my left eye today. My right eye had same procedure 11 years ago (2012). Because of repeated corneal ulcer happening during a year, I decided to solve this issue by a laser surgery. It is an effective way to cure this type of eye problem. My daughter went to the eye clinic with me. It was good to have a family companion while waiting for the operation. I must take care of my eyes after recovery.

On Lok senior center, San Francisco

今天2/22拜訪位於舊金山第30街的On Lok長者中心(Senior Center)，在拜訪前我與中心的Staff on Duty Billy Li聯繫多次，他非常的熱心安排我到訪的時間，我大概在下午三點左右到，一進門就看到On Lok的用餐區，他們提供60歲以上的長者免費的午餐，時間從早上10點到下午一點，週一到週六皆提供(但週六沒有提供熱食，提供冷凍食品)。Billy也提供了當月供應的菜單給我看，我也參觀的用餐區，由菜色的安排可以了解到On Lok非常重視來此中心長者的營養，每餐皆有肉、蔬菜、水果與牛奶。 Billy也帶我參觀位於三樓的教室，其中讓我印象深刻的是編織的教室以及空中花園，他們也有瑜珈、繪畫及電腦教室，並有Game Room(遊戲室)，Billy特別提到On Lok可能在今年引進麻將的活動。此外，我也看到一間大教室有UCSF(加州大學舊金山分校)的醫生來講授大腦認知的課程。 On Lok的活動參與完全免費，包括學習所需之材料與器材費都不用繳。他們提供的課程也部分是以西班牙文與廣東話教授。課程的型態有線上、混成與實體上課。該中心也會安排志工協助，例如管理電腦教室。我看到裡面所有的人員(工作人員、學習者)都還是戴著口罩，顯示美國的高齡教育與服務機構仍非常重視防疫。有一點最讓我驚訝的是，On Lok歡迎LGBTQ+的長者來參加，這也是舊金山多元化的精神表現。On Lok的經費主要是由舊金山Department of Disability and Aging Services贊助。 整體而言，On Lok是一個多功能的長者社區活動中心，由它提供的活動與服務來看，對於長者來說是非常值得去的地方，充分考量長者身心靈的需求，這是值得台灣學習的。