By Madeline Lau
There are a lot of things and people that I love. In fact, sometimes I think I might even have too much love for the world, but then I get angry about things like the “Girls Gone Wild” video series and random acts of violence and I think it all gets evened out. I definitely am an optimist, though, and sometimes the tiniest things make me so blissfully joyous I thank God then and there for their existence.
February features Valentine’s Day, a time of blatant romantic gestures and unabashed loooove, so, finally being a single gal this year, I’ve decided to write about some of the people and things I am just really loving right now.
Right next to LMU (my college) there is a restaurant so wildly delicious and sumptuous, I feel compelled to visit it at least a few times a semester. Taj India Palace is amazing and tasty, but its real staying power lies in the charming hospitality of its owner, a man whose name I don’t even know, despite having written him a kind of unnecessary fan letter.
Every person who enters his restaurant is greeted so warmly one feels as though they are his family member. He greets you then seats you and while you’re eating he checks on you numerous times to make sure you’re having a great experience. And he has a beautiful speaking voice; I kind of love him.
This guy makes an enormous effort to make sure everyone enjoys her time in his establishment. It’s this attention to detail and genuine caring that reminds me of being at home in Stayton, chilling with the Shoe Guy and the Gun Guy, grabbing a pie at Apizza and shooting the breeze with the charming Mexicos down at the Star Cinema. Community, no matter where it is, is something I really value.
I also kind of like my weird parents. And don’t forget, I did say weird.
Many of you know my father, especially if you work at Roth’s IGA, his favorite hang out, as the bearded man in the decorated station wagon, slowly maneuvering through Stayton looking for a good garage sale. My mother is the nice lady convincing my father to go speed walking with her down by the Santiam River. As I get older, I come to understand that they have my well-being, not total humiliation, as their main motivator for life guidance, and I love them for it. My sisters, grandmother and family in general are people I love a lot, too, mainly because we’re not a boring bunch! That alone is cause for celebration. I really don’t like boring.
Learning is something I’ve really gotten into recently as well (I know, only about 15 years too late, right?) and I attribute that change to myself, ha ha ha.
After two failed attempts at enjoying my collegiate academic experience under the guise of a communications and then political science major, I finally said “Forget it!” and chose an area of study that really, to poorly quote the Doors, “lit my fire.” As a victim of Western-oriented schooling I went my whole life never really knowing anything about Asia or Asian history so I was naturally, at the age of 19, really, really curious. I took a class on over-the-top Asian communist leaders (not the official name, but basically the bulk of the curriculum) and became hooked. I changed my major to Asian Pacific Studies with a double in European studies so I could appear well-versed in about three quarters of the world’s history. My minor is philosophy, so you know that I’m a deep, esoteric, highly critical thinker. You can tell this by my monthly column: full of poignant insight and life advice. Kidding!
Anyway, I am really happy actually learning things I never knew before: it feels very ancient and traditional and like I could be studying under Socrates – cool! I also spend a lot of time learning languages, Japanese right now, and am planning to go to Japan next year to study abroad. I love the world!
As part of the world, I love my girlfriends. Mucho. They rock. Life is way dull if you have to experience it solo, yo, so the g-funks are important. My friends are widely different from each other and I love that variety. They keep it real, keep me in check and don’t freak out when I’m maybe a little too eccentric or blunt. A girl’s gotta have a great posse, and I’m sending some love to mine! Ooohh, I should make Valentines.
Not to be discriminating, I also sort of, just a tiny bit, love boys. They may be dense, weird, overly manly and clueless, but boys can be fun!
When I was in first grade I developed an alter ego named Alex who wore flannel shirts and had a desire to be “one with the dudes.” Today, I still enjoy blowing things up with my dad, doing cookies in the high school parking lot with various gutsy guy friends and talking with my friend Courtney’s boyfriend Brian about the bear he got while hunting. He’s making a rug. I am so jealous. Yes, boys bring to the table a whole different life perspective that girls so quickly forget about in the midst of makeup, perfume and shoe collections and for that I say thank you, boys!
I could go on for another, oh, million pages but I’ll spare you and just say that I love a lot and encourage you, wonderful readers (whom I also love!) to think of the people and things you love, and show that love in whatever ways you can. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, but keep the love alive for the rest of the year: there’s not enough around!
