愛別離苦

近別不改容，遠別涕沾胸。
咫尺不相見，實與千里同。
人生無離別，誰知恩愛重。
始我來宛丘，牽衣舞兒童。
便知有此恨，留我過秋風。
秋風亦已過，別恨終無窮。
問我何年歸，我言歲在東。
離合既循環，憂喜迭相攻。
悟此長太息，我生如飛蓬。
多憂髮早白，不見六一翁。

蘇軾 熙寧四年(1071 A.D.)九月

蘇東坡與其弟弟子由及家人共度中秋。這次中秋值得記憶，他後來一直思念不
已，因為其後六年他始終沒有機會和弟弟共度佳節。臨別時，二人難分難捨，子由送兄
長至穎河下游八十里外的穎州（今阜陽），到穎州在歐陽修相伴之下，又一同過了半個
多月。但是終須分手。在蘇東坡開船出發的前夜，兄弟二人又在穎州河的船上共度
一夜，吟詩論政，徹夜未眠。那天夜裡，蘇東坡寫了兩首詩來顯示他的心境，此其一。
次日凌晨，兄弟二人分手。蘇東坡對子由的深情確是非比尋常，後來，在寫給
他好友李常的一首詩中說：「嗟余寡兄弟，四海一子由。」

From 蘇東坡傳記 by 林語堂

Perfect Blending of the Old and the New

The new courtyard at the landmark building that houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. The elegant glass canopy was designed by the architectural firm Foster + Partners (Norman Foster). The enclosed courtyard, at 28,000 square feet, provides a distinctive, contemporary accent to the museums' Greek Revival building.

Recent Reading - "Setting the Table"

Danny Meyer's insightful book on how he built his restaurant empire in NYC (Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Blue Smoke, the Modern, Shake Shack, among others). It's an autobiography as well as a business guide, full of wise advice for life and for business. Meyer describes himself as having a need to please customers, which he transforms into his own unique brand of "enlightened hospitality." Meyer comes across as a person who is warm, curious, cautious, charitable, and with business acumen and integrity. What makes his restaurants so popular often have to do with his willingness to go against the grain -- the smoking ban a decade before the government's own, the accommodation of single diners, the effort of the reservationists to "be on the caller's side," the insistence on properly spacing tables, the graciousness to take an item off a customer's check if the customer is not happy with it. The book succeeds in that it not only makes you understand his business and his philosophy, it makes you really want to go eat in one (or all) of his restaurants!

Memorable Quotes:

• On Hiring -- "It's pretty easy to spot an overwhelmingly strong candidate or even an underwhelmingly weak candidate. It's the 'whelming' candidate you must avoid at all costs . . . . Overwhelmers earn you raves. Underwhlemers either leave on their own or are terminated. Whelmers, sadly, are like a stubborn stain you can't get out of the carpet. They infuse an organization and its staff with mediocrity; they're comfortable, and so they never leave; and frustratingly, they never do anything that rises to the level of getting them promoted or sinks to the level of getting them fired. And because you either can't or don't fire them, you and they conspire to send a dangerous message to your staff and guests that 'average' is acceptable."
  

• On applying 'a sense of abundance' to his restaurants after 9/11 when downtown commerce suffered -- "[Act] from a positive and hopeful place, rather than from fear that can ultimately be self-fulfilling. The mindset 'we're just hanging on' perpetuates scarcity. Investing money, imagination and hard work to create a mindset of abundance achieves abundance."
  

• What Meyer's grandfather used to say to him: "People will say a lot of great things about your business, and a lot of nasty things as well. Just remember, you are never as good as the best things they'll say, and never as bad as the negative ones. Just keep centered, know what you stand for, strive for new goals, and always be decent."
  

• "When you cede your core values to someone else, it's time to quit."
  

Setting the Table - The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business. By Danny Meyer.