扯平了

　去年年底時出了個大車禍；在直行時忽然有車從旁邊的停在STOP sign不等就跑出來；是一個約莫六十歲的老人，車上還載滿了人。
　在直行車道沒有任何指示的我，看到他停了一下想說他應該是有看到標幟知道自己該停下來等，便沒有減速繼續直行。等到我發現他加速，一切都來不及了。車子撞上去了，安全氣囊也爆開了，安全帶鎖死，車子就卡在路中間一動不動。對方的車也很慘，乘客座的兩扇門都毀了，玻璃也碎了，所幸是人員都沒什麼受傷，除了我的手被安全氣囊的火藥炸傷。
　其實當下腦中是一片空白的，所有你知道該做的事一項一項浮現，可是卻完全沒辦法去執行任何一件。第一件事是打給還在附近的 Jeff，Ryan，和Charlene；好人的路人證人一直說快打911；這也是我第一次打911的經驗，再來就打給保險的 agent，沒想到沒保全險的客戶他是不會幫你到現場處理的，感覺還真無助。警察做完筆錄之後，Jeff幫我把車開回家；Rayn捐出他冰敷腳的冰袋敷我的燙傷，Charlene也一直陪我們到晚上。還好有三個朋友在，不然不知道那天會是怎麼過的。
　雖然不是什麼好事，但還好對方願意認錯，也讓我後續保險的理賠的部份算是順利。舊的一年過去了，希望所有的不順也一起過去，好運則和新年一起過來！

誌謝

AKNOWLEDGMENTS

To become a scientist in the life science field has been my dream since I was 12 years old. I once forgot this dream, and had thought that it would never be possible. Without these people’s favors, I could never finish my dissertation, let alone the dream of the little girl.

I would like to first thank my mentor, Dr. Michael Lai, for his endless support during my Ph.D study. I thank him for training me for logical thoughts, for inspiring me great ideas as a virologist, and for guiding me the way to become a great scientist.

Thanks to Dr. James Ou, who has been just as my second mentor. His encouragement has walked me through the most difficult days in my Ph.D study.

Thanks to my closest colleague, Dr. Keigo Machida, who has been a great teacher in the laboratory. It was my great pleasure to work with such a brilliant scientist.

I appreciate Dr. Hideki Aizaki and Dr. Jessie Yi-ja Li, who motivated me to study viral replication and taught me all the basic techniques in a virology lab. I also thank to Dr. Keum S. Choi, who initiated the SYNCRIP project, and Dr. Grace Guann-yi Yu, who has always been a great senior person to me.

I especially appreciate Michelle MacVeigh and Ernesto Barron, two experts who also trained me well for confocal and electron microscopy studies.

Donna Sir and Wenling Chen, I thank them for their friendship and support.
I truly appreciate my Father, who first told me not to give up my dream and to be great. Thank him for encouraging me to study abroad.

My dearest husband, Peter Shih, I thank you for your eternal support, in every way you can. There is so much more than what I can express in words.

Thank you, my Lord, for giving me such a great chance to make my dream come true and for sending me my beloved family and friends.

一葉知秋

總統大選前的那個週末，Wendy吵著要出去玩，陳大哥於時臨時又約出了偽一家四口一起去爬山。
似乎是沒有在秋天時去過San Gabriel Mountains，山上的景色有點熟悉但又很陌生。很美麗的滿地落葉，很安靜的山谷。空氣是清新的，腳步也是輕巧的。