Liliane's Playlist (Part 4 of Many...)

Songs from your Family...

From Mommy

張懸 - 寶貝

Our mom used to sing this song to Liliane and because she wasn't sure what the actual lyrics were, she would come up her own and personalize them so they were about Liliane.

From Daddy

劉若英 René Liu【很愛很愛你 Love you so much】

This is one of the songs from the Smilebox presentation we showed at Liliane's memorial. 

From Jiejie

The Sister Song (from Barney)

Possibly the first song I ever sang to Liliane.

Love You, Liliane!!!!

Happy Birthday Moo

Pictures taken 2/16/14 - First celebration of Liliane's 20th Birthday

Make a Wish Liliane!!!

This is THE VOICE

I have to thank The Voice for providing me with a lot of happy times & memories with Liliane. Like many other viewers, we enjoyed seeing the hilarious camaraderie & competitiveness between the coaches, the insane level of talent, and just the overall positive, feel-good vibes of the show. During the blind auditions, Liliane & I would like to compare the different coaches' pitches and try and guess which coach a singer would choose. (Both of us thought we were "amazing" at this - myself more so than Liliane probably...)

Hope you can join us in enjoying some of the funny moments from the show...

Season 8 of The Voice premiered today. Not sure if I'm quite ready to watch the show again yet but I do recommend checking out the show, if you haven't done so already.

Happy (belated) Presidents Day

Apparently I am a week behind on all the posts I've been meaning to write. Luckily I am a subscriber to the saying "better late than never" and I suppose it can still be appropriate to be posting this today as it is George Washington's birthday.

For those who don't already know, I am currently working at Polaris Charter Academy, reportedly the first Expeditionary Learning charter school in Chicago, in the 5th/6th grade Expedition classroom. This month, we started in on our Slavery/Civil War Expedition with students and it has inspired me to do so much incredibly fascinating, thought-provoking, and cringe-inducing research that I wish I could have directly shared & discussed with Liliane. (To those people who have been hearing me go on and on about Crash Course, this is how that obsession got started. I've also been taking full advantage of the massive open online courses available on Youtube and enjoying the writings of incredibly smart, learned people.)

So what is the point of me writing all this and how exactly does it relate to Liliane? I hope people can forgive me for coming off sounding terribly unpatriotic but the fact of the matter is America is a country that was founded on hypocrisy. One need only look at the massive institution of slavery that was allowed to develop and exist in this country for over 200 years to realize the truth in that statement. Liliane, however, was someone who always tried her very best to avoid being a hypocrite (or "hippo-butt" as she frequently would call me out on), and that is something I think worth being proud of. Of course, I am certainly not trying to say my sister was perfect - (in fact, I'm pretty sure it's my job as her older sister to occasionally point out how she's not perfect) - but as her friend Fadwa so eloquently put it, "Lili’s capability, ambition, and personality were far from simple. However, her kind, humble, innocent nature was what is simple." I hope people can find comfort in knowing that the Liliane you knew is most likely a true reflection of the person she was with no duplicity, insincerity, or pretense attached to it. And that's something she arguably had figured out even before some of our Founding Fathers.

There is a picture of Liliane & me at Mt. Rushmore that I wanted to include on this post although I can't seem to find it at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to track it down sometime in the near future.

Here's to the world being filled with less human hippo-butts, and more actual hippo butts!

新年快樂

Wishing everyone a blessed Year of the Sheep/Goat!

Quick Chinese Lesson: one of the Chinese characters for kindness (善) is topped with the Chinese character for sheep (羊).

With that in mind here's hoping we can all enjoy a year where we both receive much kindness and, more importantly, are able to spread much kindness wherever we go & to everyone we meet.

Pictures dated 5/21/98, taken on our first trip to Beijing, China

新年快樂，恭喜發財

做人羊眉吐氣

生意羊羊得意

前程羊關大道

煩惱羊長而去

羊年發羊財

天天喜氣羊羊！

Happy (Belated) Teddy Bear Day!!

Apparently Teddy Bear Day is so awesome that it gets to be celebrated on two different days. While "National" Teddy Bear Day is on September 9, Teddy Bear Day is also (reportedly) celebrated on the fourth day of the Valentine week, which apparently means that it is... just about a week ago. (Also, from the quick research I did on this subject, it would seem that India is quite big on celebrating this February version of Teddy Bear Day.)

To celebrate this day of beary goodness, allow me to introduce you to Teddy, the big, stuffed, 32-lb, ~$100 bear that our Aunt 如 娟 (Rujuan) bought for us when she was visiting us in Japan. As the story goes, our dear 5'2" aunt saw Teddy in a store and instantly knew she had to take him home. After a harrowing and hot journey through Tokyo's public transportation system - (where Teddy took up his own subway seat) - he finally made it back to our Tokyo apartment and Liliane & I have loved him ever since. (He makes an excellent nap buddy.)

('')...('')

( ' o ' )  

 ('')-('')  

(''')--(''') 

Liliane's Playlist (Part 3 of Many..)

A friendship-themed version of Liliane's playlist...
(Will be trying to get translations of song lyrics up in the near future)

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

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となりのトトロ  (Tonari no Totoro) - My Neighbor Totoro

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Count On Me - Bruno Mars

(I remember being first introduced to this song by my friend Ashley while I was in Malaysia. Not sure when Liliane first heard this song, but I know she definitely heard me singing it around the house/apartment every now and then...)

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七個朋友片尾曲 摩天輪 - 任容萱 (Seven Friends OST Ferris Wheel, Kirsten Ren)

(The lyrics aren't directly about friendship but given the title of the drama series, I figured we can include it on this list...)

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范瑋琪 - 一個像夏天一個像秋天 (Christine Fan - One is like Summer, One is like Fall)

(One of the Chinese songs that frequently gets stuck in my head when I think of my sister... both Liliane & I really love this song)

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In wanting to make sure I include a classical piece on this playlist, I did some research to see how the subject of friendship has been represented in classical music. Through this research, I came to learn more about Franz Schubert and the intimate circle of friends he enjoyed throughout his life. (As a sign of true friendship, he was given the affectionate nickname "Schwämmerl", which apparently translates to "Tubby" or "Little Mushroom.")

1868 drawing of a Schubertiade by Moritz von Schwind - (famous Austrian painter and friend of Schubert)

The following pieces are ones Schubert composed in honor of his friend, poet Johann Senn, who he never got to see again after 1820 for political reasons. Schubert took the words from Senn's poem, Schwanengesang (Swan Song) & Selige Welt (Happy World) and set it to music. (FYI: This Swan Song is not to be confused with the song cycle of the same name, Schwanengesang D957, which are believed to be some of Schubert's last compositions...) Although my guess would be that Liliane never heard these pieces before, I think she would have appreciated the story behind them...

Schwanengesang (Swan Song) D744

(The translation of these lyrics can be found here: Swan Song by Johann Senn.) 

Selige Welt (Happy World) D743

(Original poem & translation can be found here: Happy World by Johann Senn)

And in one of those life is stranger than fiction moments, here's a picture of the stuffed animal Liliane affectionately nicknamed Schubert - (the only stuffed animal I'm aware of that she named after a composer, although we did name one of our parakeets Puccini.)

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I've deliberately held out on not posting videos from the Voice yet (for reasons which should be become clear in a week or so) but this "friendship playlist" simply wouldn't be complete if I didn't include this song...

Lean On Me

(Will explain the significance of this particular version of an all-time classic next week...)

Happy "Kissy Scenes" Day

Liliane never outgrew her "Ew, romantic kisses are GROSS!!!" phase which is why anytime she saw onscreen kisses, she'd vigilantly turn her head and cover her eyes until the swelling, romantic music had stopped and she knew she was no longer in danger of seeing people exchange saliva. At least that's the behavior I observed from her anytime we watched something together; which is why I always enjoyed trying to trick her into believing a kissing scene was over when it actually was not. (Yep, I'm that kind of person.)

So now that you know I'm that kind of person, please enjoy the following scenes which we can be 85% sure Liliane never saw in its entirety...

Top 15 Disney Kisses/Kiss Scenes

(Purportedly) Most Romantic Kissing Scenes Ever

Disney Channel Kisses

Happy Valentine's Day

(Picture taken somewhere in Disney World, and if memory serves me correctly, this chair would've been in Minnie Mouse's House)

This clip has Liliane's sweet voice recorded on her Mobile Phone 3 days before (11/20/2014). It is uncertain this is a piece of song she likes, or a piece of song she has made. No matter what, this is part of memory we'd like to share with.

Family & Friends - (Part 3 of Many..)

Cuteness Overload: a collage of (arguably) Liliane's first friend - Jasmine Liu. 

Flower Baby Love - Jasmine <3 Liliane

Just as a bit of context/background... Jasmine is the younger sister of one of my very best friends, Laura Liu, who was also one of my first friends having known each other since around the time we were 2...

The four of us all grew up together and we will always have the beautiful bond of sharing some of our greatest childhood memories together - (which I plan on writing more about in future posts.) For now, all I really wanted to share is how ridiculously adorable Jasmine & Liliane were as babies.

(Pictures circa 7/30/1994)

Jasmine: Oh, aren't we just the cutest things ever?!!

Liliane: I don't really know what's going on but I guess...?

Jasmine: You're newer at this baby thing than me but trust me. We're super cute.

A quick side story: Laura had the opportunity to name her baby sister, hence the name Jasmine after Princess Jasmine in Aladdin. I also had the chance to choose what my sister's name should be however, according to my mom, I insisted on wanting to call my sister "Any" (pronounced with a long A sound) because apparently my 4-year-old self was obsessed with some sort of knock-knock joke that included the line "Anybody Who?" (My later, older self questioned whether my 4-year-old self had actually been trying to say the name "Annie", although my mom is quite adamant that I did not pronounce the name with a short A sound.)

Needless to say, I'm quite glad my parents had the insight to not name my sister "Any" or "Ainy" although that is, reportedly, the story behind why Liliane's middle name is Amy. (And now you can say you know a person who was, in part, named after a knock-knock joke. Sorry Mei.)

Family & Friends - (Part 2 of Many...)

As the saying goes, it's true that you don't necessarily get to choose who your (biological) family is; but it's pretty cool when you do find yourself related to such awesome people...

Certainly no offense intended towards the boy cousins or other males in our family - (who are also pretty cool) - but girl power has definitely been a thing in terms of Liliane's & my collective experience with family. I don't know what I would have done had it not been for the loving support of my cousin-sisters after Liliane passed away. 

When asked to share some of their memories of my sister, by far the most popular story was remembering how toddler-aged Liliane used to fawn over pictures of baby-aged Liliane while repeatedly exclaiming, "哦，好可愛！！！" (Translation: Oh, so cute!!!) This, by the way, is indeed the story behind the name for this blog - (for anyone who has been wondering.) Now I trust most of you would agree with me when I say Liliane wasn't a particularly narcissistic type of person, but when you see pictures as adorable as these can you really blame a girl for indulging in a bit of self-admiration...?

One of the greatest gifts that has come out of this agonizingly heartbreaking event has been reconnecting with my current stateside cousins - (the ones you see pictured above). And even though everyone has their own busy life to take care of, Liliane has helped remind us all the blessing of family and the importance of always making your loved ones a priority.

Thank you again, super awesome Tsai & Chen Cousin-Sisters. Both Liliane and I love you so very, very much!!!

Tu B'Shevat

1. Tu BiShvat (Hebrew: טו בשבט‎) is a Jewish holiday occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month ofShevat (in 2015, Tu BiShvat begins at sunset on 3 February and ends at nightfall on 4 February). It is also called "Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot" (Hebrew: ראש השנה לאילנות‎), literally "New Year of the Trees."
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3. For those who are not yet aware, my family and I have decided that instead of enshrining Liliane in a tombstone we would like to create a living memorial for her by planting a tree. (We are hoping we will be able to plant this tree at Ranch View Elementary School, although we still need to figure out whether that will be allowed.) In my preliminary research looking through some of the symbolic meanings given to various types of trees, I think ideally I would like to try and plant some type of apple tree for my sister although some other options I'm exploring include sycamore, Japanese maple, Japanese lilac, cherry blossom, and magnolia. (Any opinions on this matter are greatly welcomed and appreciated.)
4. We are not yet sure when we will be able to plant a tree but I will be sure to let people know once that information becomes available. While Tu B'Shevat certainly is not a holiday we regularly (or ever) celebrated in the Wu Family, it will be a day I'll try to remember to commemorate from now on.

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1. Here is a picture of the certificate we received from Beidelman-Kunsch Funeral Home for the tree they have already kindly planted in honor of Liliane. 
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Advice from a Tree

by Ilan Shamir

Dear Friend,
Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter
Feel the wind and the sun
And delight in their presence
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you
And the mystery of the stars at night.
Seek nourishment from the good things in life
Simple pleasures
Earth, fresh air, light
Be content with your natural beauty
Drink plenty of water
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes
Be flexible
Remember your roots
Enjoy the view!

Happy Groundhog Day!!

To learn how to get some of this cuteness, click here!

Family & Friends - (Part 1 of Many...)

Seika Nagao was my sister's best friend from Japan. The girls met each other when they were 4-years-old attending ISSH (International School of Sacred Heart) in Tokyo, Japan. I can still picture them running around in their red-checkered smocks on the school playground.

The Nagao Family has always been incredibly kind to us - (Seika's mom, Chiho, and my mom also became good friends because of Seika & Liliane's friendship while I was just able to reap all the benefits) - and we were able to share many happy memories together including the birth of Seika's little brother, Hiroki and visiting each other in Japan, New York, as well as Naperville.

I know my sister was able to keep in touch with Seika at least up until high school and I remember our family receiving at least a few holiday cards from them over the years. I'm currently in the process of trying to get back in touch with the Nagao Family. (Really hope they don't mind that I've gone ahead and posted this without double- checking with them first!)

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(These pictures below were included in a mini photo album that Seika's mom gave to us as a parting gift when we left Japan in 2000.)

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One of the earliest emails I found in Liliane's Yahoo account. I guess I must have helped type this email out, seeing as my sister would have been only 6 at the time...

• Dec 1, 2000

To

• me

Dearest the Wu family,

Thank you so much for your message, Elaine!  It's now 2:15AM here, and Seika
of course is now sleeping.  Every morning when I take her to school and ask
her who she likes to play with in school, her answer is the same, "Liliane."
It's so sad for me to tell her that Liliane is not here and she has to find
someone else to play with.  And you know, my mother, Seika's grandma, she
talks about you and your mommy a lot.  My mother always tells me how Hiroki
would be happy if you were around to entertain him.  He will be 1 year-old
soon, in January, and he started to walk already.  He is very cute, and
people often mistake him as a baby girl.  We will send his recent picture
with Seika, so you would know how he grew.

So, how is your school there?  Your mommy told me you are doing great in math
(and I believe in all subjects, right?).  Seika is emerging as a reader;
maybe a bit slow start, but she loves to read on her own, which makes me
really happy.

As for summer, yes, it would be great if we can visit you, so Liliane and
Seika can go to the same camp while we are there.  In fact, Seika is already
counting the days she can meet Liliane again.

How are your mother and father doing?  I'm sure they are happy to be back to
Chicago, enjoying their life and old friends.

We miss you and we'd love to see you again soon.  You are always welcome
here, so plan to come visit us here with Liliane and your parents, too.

Love,      C.  Nagao   

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• Jan 25, 2002

To

• me

Dear Liliane,

A Happy New Year!
Yes, I remember "granny nanny!"
I got a  Science set from Santa.  I'm playing with my daddy when he is at
home.  It's like a magic, and is really fun.  I think you will like it too.
What kind of game do you like on Gameboy?
I'm enjoying my school.  I now play mostly with Aya and Maile.
Starting next week, I'm going to an acting school!
I miss you sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much.

your best friend

                            Seika                     

p.s. Dear May-Ling, I'm sorry for a long silence.  I got sick last November
and had to see a cardiologist.  It was scary when I had a pain in my heart; I
had to go through all kinds of tests.  The doctor couldn't find anything
particularly serious, probably from lack of sleep and fatigue.  I now try to
rest as much as I can, but still hard with two kids around (especially with
Hiroki).
To our surprise, Seika passed the audition for the junior division of the
most leading acting school in Japan.  Her Japanese is becoming good, yet I
guess is not good enough to compete with the other native Japanese kids.  So,
she is anxious but excited to start the lesson.
Please say hello to Elaine and Jim.  Can you plan a trip to Tokyo this
summer?  We really like to see you again soon.  Love,      Chiho

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• Mar 19, 2005

To

• me

Dear Liliane,

I miss you sooooooooooooooooI amoooo much. I always think about you in my mind and wonder when you would come.  really happy to hear about the good news about you coming back to Japan. On Saturday the 26th we are free from 4pm and on Sunday the 27th we are free the whole day. Let us now how you would like to spend the weekend. For example we can go to an indoor amusement park (Do you now Joypolis?) or Edo Onsen (a big public bath with games). We will all be looking ford to meeting you in Japan!

                                                       Love,
                                                                Seika Nagao

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Liliane has always been really good at remembering dates - especially people's birthdays... (This email was sent 7 years after we moved back from Japan. Seika's birthday is technically March 14th, i.e. Pi Day, but I wonder if my sister sent this out a day earlier to account for the time difference.)

• me
 
• Mar 13, 2007

To

• Seika Nagao

Dear Seika,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! YOU ARE NOW A TEENAGER!!!

I hope you have an awesome birthday with lots of wishes and fun!

I really, really miss you! Hope to see you soon!

                                  Your best friend forever,

                                                     Liliane 

Happy Puppy Bowl Sunday!

Given how important (American) football is to American culture - (for better or worse) - Super Bowl Sunday may very well be the second most important unofficial U.S. holiday. (Don't ask me what the first most important holiday is, as I sort of just made that statistic up...)

So in honor of this most important day, please enjoy the following videos & GIFs, good luck to whatever team you happen to be rooting for, and hope you have yourself a Super Super Bowl Sunday.

For the super sweet steal...

...and TOUCHDOWN!!!

Don't forget the cheerleaders... 

Training for the Puppy Bowl

 (Liliane seriously loved this GIF. I remember telling her she seemed slightly sadistic for being so into it but really, who can blame her?)

Family & Friends... (An Introduction of Sorts)

This morning as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to post about next, I realized that the month of February starts with the same letter as Family & Friends. And while certainly every month should be in celebration of family and friends, I thought it particularly appropriate to "officially" start blogging about this topic today as it is the start of my sister's birth month.

Before I begin with this series of posts (which will surely continue on long after this month of February), I would like to say I hope I don't accidentally hurt anyone's feelings in the process for that absotively posolutely would be the last thing Liliane would want to have happen! Please know that if for some reason I forget to mention you, it is definitely not because you weren't an important part in my sister's life but simply because I don't have access to information and/or have clear knowledge of your relationship with Liliane. (Alas for my spotty memory!)

I hope you can accept my most sincere apology if I somehow inadvertently hurt your feelings by forgetting to write a post about you or because of some careless remark I've written. Ideally, I would also hope that you might then somehow find a way to contact me so that you can: A) let me know what I jerk I was for daring to forget such an important person in my sister's life or for writing something egregiously inaccurate & insensitive, and B) share some of the memories you have with Liliane that you would feel comfortable sharing with everyone else.

Thank you for all your patience and understanding and, as always, for keeping up with this blog.