Patrick's Diary - 11/13/2015

It's Friday, 13th. Leaving home at 6:30 am, I stopped by Burger King to have breakfast. Keep chatting with my classmates at CUMT, I posted a photo of my almost finished meal to them. My dormmate whose last name the same as mine asked if it was delicious, I said it didn't really matter because the purpose was to have stomach filled, then I wouldn't feel hungry while sitting at my desk at work for the next eight hours. At that point of time, I had decided not to eat lunch. 

Another classmate reminded me to watch France hosting Germany in a soccer match, at that moment, I didn't know it would be in Paris and just an international friendly. I told him that I hadn't been able to watch the matches played during weekdays in Europe because they were generally played in the morning. He teased me that I should go home now to catch that match. It's already almost 8:30 am then, I decided to slowly sip the cup of coffee while keeping chatting with them for another 20 minutes before going to work. My dormmate made the comment that drinking coffee was a good habit for Westerners. 

Several hours later at work, I learned the series of shooting and suicide bombings in Paris. 

It was such a tragedy and many reports have been released in the last 30 hours through all medias. I don't need to elaborate more. It is a brutal crime to humanity. Paris is one of the most wonderful cities in the world. I will come back there the fourth time in one of the next several years to show my respect. 

The last time I visited Paris was in August, 2012. As we all know, it became European cultural center in Early Modern Ages. Versailles is such a magnificent heritage. 

Paris became European center of Christianity in Middle Ages, Notre Dame has been covered by romantic and mystery after Hugo's Notre Dame De Paris. My son was lighting the candle in it during that trip.

French Revolution set up a role model for the pursuit of freedom. Bastille is always the symbol of depicting French's bravery. 

I wouldn't be bored of visiting Louvre forever and always have a plan of staying in a hotel near it, then thoroughly appreciate every piece of artworks for a week. Sure, it has to be post-retirement.

Parc Des Princes is one of the greatest sports temples in my mind. We watched PSG's home opening match of 2012-2013 season. 

Of course, you don't want to miss Arc De Triomphe on Champs-Elysees every time you are in Paris too.

Tour Eiffel actually is the arguable symbol of City of Paris, yes, there are so many great architectures. 

Seine probably brings a lot of beautiful dreams at nights to the people like me when we were kids.

These are all because I was influenced by French literatures in Chinese Translations so much when I was a teen. Flaubert's Madame Bovary; Balzac's Les Illusions Perdues; Maupassant's Bel Ami; Montesquieu's Lettres Persanes; Zola's L'Argent; Stendhal's La Chartreuse De Parme.

Definitely, Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame De Paris.

I read almost all of Dumas' novels and was influenced by the knight spirits of the heros in these books. 

My prayer goes to the victims, actually, including an American girl coming from Long Beach, California where I worked for a pretty big company for almost a year in 2005.