The Portfolios

DAN HICKS: Let’s go to thirteen.

BOB MURPHY: Well, just a moment ago - we have to show you this to appreciate the difficulty… right on the front of the green, it’s up the hill about 39 feet, Phil Mickelson’s third…

JOHNNY MILLER: Uh-oh… that was a big uh-oh

MURPHY: Down the hill…

MILLER: This is like six flags, right here…

MURPHY: This is his fourth.

MILLER: This is a tougher shot than the last one.

MURPHY: Really really clipped it - watch out. Back … down…

MILLER: Might go in his own divot

HICKS: He makes it a habit to play here once twice a week, especially preparing for the US Open in his back yard, so he knows what this is all about, Murph

MURPHY: Playing five…

MILLER: Was that heavy?

MURPHY: That sounded heavy

HICKS: Oh my goodness…

MURPHY: This was a moment ago… this was a lot of moments ago! It takes a long time to do all this…

MILLER: You know what’s amazing? He’s hit the ball three times and he’s farther than when he started…

HICKS: Can you imagine how he feels, the local favorite here, just, throwing it away at 13 here, Murph

MURPHY: Yes, and just utter dejection. This is number six, and it’s finally on the green.

MILLER: Last time we had something similar was that tenth hole at Shinnecock. Remember that Bob?

MURPHY: Yes I do!

MILLER: But it wouldn’t come back this far.

MURPHY: This is for seven.

MILLER: Well you don’t see too many snowmen at the beach, but…

MURPHY: Johhny, he hammered it.

HICKS: Well, he’s gonna be hoping for a snowman. This is amazing…

MURPHY: This is nine-ten feet past the hole. Now you’re just not thinking, are you, Johnny? You’re just in another zone.

MILLER: Yeah your hands get - get - you know - sort of sweaty?

MURPHY: This is eight … makes, a quad - nine on the par 5.

HICKS: Murph, yesterday was Friday the 13th … … Saturday, at 13 … is a nightmare for Mickelson.

MILLER: Wow…

MURPHY: You know you hate to see it, you hate to see anybody do it.

MILLER: And this gallery’s been so loyal and so strong in its support… Well, back to Ernie Els on that, uh, par 3…

Torrey Pines is on fire this year.

I’m watching the end of yesterday’s second-round coverage (love DVR) and it is such a thrill. Tiger and Phil are paired together with Adam Scott (who is being ignored, more on that later) and they are going shot for shot down the stretch. The USGA really did a great thing putting the number one and number two (and number three) players together for the first two rounds.

Tiger started off the first round with a double-bogey - after all the speculation about his knee (just coming off surgery 8 weeks ago) it was hoped not to be a harbinger of disaster in the offing. Tons of coverage means cute little features about things like Phil Mickelson growing up nearby in Rancho Santa Fe, where his well-off parents had a real green and sand trap in their backyard. The evidence of how many hours he spent out there chipping has been his amazing recovery shots from all over the place - including what looked like certain doom when he flew the 3rd green Friday and went downhill into the hazard. His flop shot was great but left him a long putt of at least 30 feet - which he drained with authority.

That was just a few holes after he’d flew another green and gone under the grandstands, taken a drop in the deep deep rough and plopped it out masterfully to about 2 inches. Nearly bloody drained it!

The crowds have been amazing - only getting bigger as times goes on. Just now (on my viewing schedule, at least) at the third, Tiger had to read his putt while a phalanx of photographers looked on from directly behind the hole. It underscores how good these guys are, Tiger more than anyone - that they not only pull off amazing feats of golf but they do it while being totally distracted by monstrous crowds. Especially at the US Open, there is not one shot hit without someone, immediately after ball contact, screaming “Get in the hole!!!” This is not Augusta National. This is America’s National Championship - the people’s championship.

Third Leg

That brings me back to Adam Scott, an Australian who has become more popular on tour in the last few years, winner of this year’s Byron Nelson Championship in Texas. He also happens to be the third-best golfer in the world, but you wouldn’t know it from the treatment he’s getting from the coverage. There have been more than one instance where they show Tiger and Phil hit, and then move on to some other hole, neglecting to show Scott’s approach or drive. He’s a few shots back, but so is Phil, and I feel like they could be giving him more respect. Then again, Tiger just made 5 threes in a row - including four birdies - so Scott’s repeated missed putts aren’t really providing any excitement in comparison.

I’m off to Kent now for my ten-year reunion, and then tomorrow golf with Dad and the boys for Father’s Day - after which we’ll retire to Dad’s to barbeque and was the finish - it promises to be an exciting weekend at Torrey Pines and here on the East coast…

One more note - it’s nice to see quite a few amateurs who are going to be sticking around for the weekend. This Fathauer kid is really deadly around the greens and there’s some 19-year-old college freshman who qualified as an alternate and was lucky enough to have some other player drop out.

UPDATE: As if he were reacting to my words, Adam Scott just hit the flagpole on the 8th hole and nearly had an ace. Nice kick-in birdie and let’s see him continue the momentum into the weekend. I really like this guy - his swing is beautiful. And something else that draws me to him is that he’s almost exactly my age. He makes me wonder if I ever could have been that good…

Last night, saw the movie version of Sex and The City. Two Fs: funny and fantasy. Have to mention, we got the worst seats, of course.

Going home for Dad’s 60th birthday in 2 2/3 months. Don’t say it’s far away, it’s soon. And my parents have no idea. Here is my idea, I’ll call them before I go to the airport, say there’ll be a present delivery from Rindy and I. It’ll arrive at what time and what date; make sure you guys will be home so that you can receive it. And then when the time comes, they’ll receive me and my suitcase. I can’t stop laughing whenever I think this plan, it’s a great plan I haven’t made for a long time.

Then there will be family gossips, I’ll tell them my REAL life in America, they’ll tell me about the earthquake, Tibet and Olympic games…… The best is, I’ll eat so much, so much meat with bones and skins with some fat! My love, baby! Plus, everything I can’t eat in America, I’ll eat them all.

After flight times, I’ll have 5days to spend with my family, but also want to catch up with best friend in Beijing, I might have to squeeze 1 day for him after Chengdu trip. Just eat, drink, talk, vent. God, why I only have so limited time to play?

The worst is, I’ll fly alone on this trip. 15 hours flight each trip on the sky, my ears will be dead……Hate hate flying.

I’m so excited! Rindy bought this trip is actually for my dad, as a birthday present. He wants my dad to see the only child on his Sixtieth birthday. Rindy is so lovely and nice, I’ll cry :’-)

So excited! So excited!

Growing herbs at apartment is not easy. Now, I have 10 pots of herbs, 8 pots of plants. They take a lot of times from me, whenever I want to quit on them, they won’t let me do it.

Sage, I don’t know what to do next, you’re turning to purple. You seem ok, my cook’s reference tells me that you’re best on warm and dry soils. Oops! I just gave you too much water this morning before I read the suggestion.

Dill, you are confusing me. Two pots of you guys, one pot is great and happy; other pot of you just dying. I don’t get it. You guys have the same treatment. You should be easy to grow, but need to be avoiding planting…….What can I say?

Basil, Chives and Parsley. I planted them the same day about 3 months ago, now they’re all 3-4 inches tall only. I even replaced them in better soil, but they seem don’t want to grow so fast at all. It is spring, come on! You should seize the opportunity, so I can taste you sooner. Don’t you want me to taste you? Don’t you want me to praise you in front of my guests?

Cherry tomato, Rosemary, Thyme are doing a good job so far. You guys look comfortable at least. I promise, I won’t eat you too soon.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/05/30/vos.honduras.plane.crash.tvhonduras

“Sichuan Earthquake is karma because China is not nice to Dalai Lama, ‘good friend’ of mine~~~~~~”-Sharon Stone

Sadly, few idiots are not representing America properly.

How dare you, Sharon Stone? Don’t you have a brain? It’s very obvious that Stone is going to loss all her business in China, loss all the fans that are Chinese in the world; you know Chinese people are everywhere.

For god sake, almost 80,000 people are dead in my hometown, and there is this old washed up Sharon Stone had to say something so cold-blooded. She had apologized 2days ago through her agent, only in Chinese.

I finally feel how awesome it is when my homeland is getting richer and richer, because we can tell you:” We don’t accept your apology, and Kiss My Fat Ass!”

“What’s wrong with love, understanding~~~” Richard Gere, Tibet affair.

Yes, what’s wrong with love and understanding? Why didn’t Richard Gere yell to those affairs in Iraq, Africa, Afghanistan and The United States?

Richard Gere should turn on the BBC world service news hour to learn what’s happening exactly.

Sick of those nonsensical from Richard Gere and some Hollywood stars, go home, find something more important to do.

After the huge earthquake in my hometown, about 6days, I couldn’t contact my mom, because her cell phone didn’t work for awhile by the damage.

Last Sunday morning, I tried call her for 10times, finally, She picked up her cell phone, woohoo!!

“Mom”

“Oh! Little daughter! Don’t worry, we’re all fine! Ha..ha..ha..ha” Of course my mom was laughing like my dad.

“I called you 100 times this week, finally found you. Are you with grandmother? Is she OK too?”

“Yes, everything is fine now. Grandmother is great. Today is sunny in Chengdu, my phone just started to work few hours ago.”

“So what happened to you when the earthquake arrived, you weren’t with dad?”

“No, I went shopping, I was at a mall, my hands were full of groceries, and I saw some beautiful slippers, so I putted them on my feet, thinking I would buy few pairs of them for me, my sister and my nephew. Soundly, I felt so dizzy, I thought all my body problems came together to hurt me, but I didn’t care, because I have to get those nice slippers. Then I felt dizzier, a woman was running, and telling me ‘big sister, run now! stop shopping, it’s earthquake!’ Then I throw all my groceries and slippers, ran so fast to outside the mall.”

“Wow! When Rindy told me about it, I didn’t take it seriously, because Chengdu is flat lands, nothing big would happen.”

“That’s right, people in Chengdu city are all fine. Your dad was doing laundry by hands that time, our neighbor went to our door and asked him to run with them together, but your dad said ‘no rush, let me finish my laundry first, only few left, you guys go ahead’.

What?! He told me that he just got up from a nap!! So how soon did you meet up with him?”

“We didn’t meet till next day, because after he done his laundry, he called my cell phone, didn’t work. So he ran outside look for me, people were everywhere; it was demanding to find each other. We gathered together at the out door stadium next to our home, but we couldn’t find each other, after midnight, I didn’t want to go home alone, so I went to our neighbor Jiang’s apartment, slept on their couch. Your dad went home around 3am by himself, slept alone, he wasn’t afraid of the aftershock. Your dad is so brave! Ha..ha..ha..ha..ha..ha…” Mom laughed again, big ones.

My parents love laughing, that’s for sure!

“I already talked to my sister and nephew, they’re fine, and I’ll visit them tomorrow from grandmother house, your dad will live alone for few days, but our mayor told us everything in the city is ok, so I’m not worry about leave your dad alone.”

“Ok, but be careful! Run fast if anything happens!”

“I know, I know”

… … … …

It was a long, warm and funny conversation. Again, I’m happy they’re fine, wish I could hang out with them now.

Just read all the updated news about earthquake in Sichuan. More people are gone, kids, mothers, fathers, strangers, they’re my people, I wish I could be there right this moment!

I opened chinese websites where I can find all the songs that my people love to sing, and I’m singing for them. Those are just old pop songs from Lijun Deng, Fei Wang, they sounded so warm rightnow.

My heart is there! Sichuan, my HOME!

But, few restaurants are trying hard to provide the real meal that we would dying for it. So thanks to them! They are,

Chengdu 1 in New Jersey

Sichuan Gourmet in New York

Ollie’s Chengdu Restaurant in New York

Da San Yan- Cantonese restaurant in New York

Da Pai Dang- Cantonese restaurant in New York

I know there might be more, like restaurants in Flushing, New York, can’t wait to try them.

We don’t have fortune cookies in China, so why am I getting those things in English in the U.S? How silly! But few restaurants I went, they stopped this silly treatment, such as Grand Sichuan, Sichuan Gourmet, maybe Ollie’s too, I have to find out later.

Give us some real treatment instead, for example, a good pot of green tea, pu’er tea or jasmine tea, I love jasmine tea the best, it’s so refreshing, the flavor is so wonderful, this is the tea I grow up with, I’ll write a story about my tea drinking history next. So, if Chinese restaurant would provide real tea treatment instead of a pot of old tea water (who knows how long the tea sets inside the pot), that would bring more money to the restaurant.

Don’t make people think Chinese food means cheap and grease, just because some people never had a real Chinese meal.

Most of the time, I walk out of the Chinese restaurant with unhappy face, especially in suburbs in the States, I can’t handle the way they cook, each meat is so huge and taste fake, can vegetables are just more pitiful, and the sauce, why it looks like jam??

Next time, I’ll take out a dish from a “chinese restaurant”, then figure out what exactly they put inside the meal.

In these 3days, I keep getting message from my friends about the earthquake damage in my hometown Chengdu. Friends from Chengdu, Beijing, Dubai, London, Australia, Shanghai, New York, Boston, New Jersey, Colifornia, Denver.

Thank you and Love,

Xianyi