Why mudworm?

I pretty much randomly chose mudworm as my handle when I registered on the mudncrud forums for lack of a better idea at the time. Later, when I signed up on some mountain bikers, cyclists, and runners forums, I kept lacking a better idea, so this username sort of stuck with me (or rather I stuck with it). It was almost natural for me to come up with the tag line, “Inch by inch, I will get there.” What else do you expect from a mudworm?

However, that simple sentence has kept popping up in my mind, for example, when I was jogging a distance that seemed too far, when I was grinding up a steep hill on my bicycle, when I was reading a 5-lb J2EE book for self-education, or even when I was chewing a tough bagel that almost hurt my jaw. Okay, I made the last part up. I found myself constantly inspired by that little mudworm in my mind. Yes, it’s tough at the moment, and yes, it does not seem like I am going anywhere, but I know that as long as I keep at it just like what a mudworm would do, I will reach the goal.

About me

I realize that I am writing this on the Internet, so there is only so much information I can, or should, give out. I grew up in China. After graduating from Tsinghua University, I left my family (parents and three older siblings) behind and came to the United States. I spent a few years on UIUC campus pursuing graduate degrees. As far as being a student goes, I have always enjoyed it and been fairly good at it. But the time finally came when I needed to start a career. I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for a high tech job and have stayed at it since. Before that move, I had always been a couch potato. But the Californian sun lured me out into the woods and the mountains. I took on hiking and rock climbing, which led me to my husband. He taught me scuba diving, mountain biking, and bicycling. Recently I started running as well. These activities brought me many like-minded friends, who have always been an inspiration to me.

About this site

I’ve had a personal web site for many years. In the beginning, it was used to post photos from my hiking trips. That was when email accounts had pathetic quota limitations, and online photo sharing had not appeared or gained popularity yet. Gradually, I started putting in more and more descriptions to company the photos. Finally, they became full-on trip reports. Just like I have benefited from reading other people reports, I hoped that the information I included will someday be useful to my readers. However, when I took a break from climbing due to a broken finger, I somehow took a break from updating the site too. No, the broken finger did not prevent me from typing. When I broke my finger, I happened to have just started dating my future husband. Suddenly I could not find time to type stuff up any more — boyfriends do get in the way sometimes, don’t they? Having a poor memory, I kept planning on picking up the old habit. It is a scary thing that life is passing by me without leaving a trace. Finally, after two years of slacking, I put my hand on it. I decided to switch to Workpress format for easy administration and nice plugins. I hope you like this format.

While you are here, if you have any comments and feedback for me, please do not hesitate to leave me a note. Is the website’s format working for you? Is there anything I can improve? Did you notice any mistakes and typos? Anything. I will be very happy to hear from you.

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