Whenever I think of Sen, I can't help but smile.
 
For one, he is always smiling, even when he is fighting cancer. For another, he has such a great sense of humor that you never know when he will throw in a twist that makes you laugh. And when you think back, you will laugh again.
 
Once we were chatting about his upcoming bone marrow transplant. He said his blood type was O, and both of his sisters’ were type B and they loved shopping. The doctor had told him that after the transplant, his blood type would slowly change to B. Then he said: Nordstrom, here we come.
 
There was another time, he told us that he was taking steroids for his treatment. And it kept him awake during the night. Then he paused and added: and my sports record won't be recognized by the Olympics.  
 
Humor aside, one would enjoy Sen's company because you can talk to him about almost anything. Books, poems, food, travel, business, you name it. Any topics you initiate, you can count on him to have a pleasant and relaxed conversation. We used to ask how come he knew so much, and he would say: "oh, I actually only know a little but I like to show off". Then he would go on and tell us a story about how he was talking about ceramics with a friend, and the friend's wife stopped him and said: "You know you really shouldn’t talk about ceramics in front of my husband, his research is about ceramics. "
 
Although Sen has a lot to talk about, he actually listens more than he talks. He has a unique charisma that can easily gain people's trust and make them want to open up to him. Many of my college friends only got to know Sen in the past two years and have never met him in person, but that did not prevent them from appreciating what Sen had to offer. One of my college friends were going through a tough time when her brother passed away in an accident last year. When she called Sen to check on him, Sen said: "Before you ask about me, I want to hear about you", this made her burst into tears. Another college friend also told me how his depression got better with Sen's encouragement although they had never seen each other face to face.
 
After Sen moved to Seattle last year, we became personal friends. He and his wife, Ning, would come visit our house and we would chat about our kids and family. Whenever Sen spoke of his family, you can tell how much he loved his wife and his kids. He would show us a picture of Ning standing in front of their house and say "isn't she cute?". He would tell us how good his older one, Edmund, was at basketball and violin and how popular he was at school. He would tell us his younger one, Sebastian, loved reading and knew a lot about outer space, and show us the picture of Sebastian reciting his own poem at the Seattle Benaroya Hall and signing the books. You could tell how proud he was about his kids whenever he talked about them.
 
Family has been the biggest source of strength for Sen to fight cancer. I remember seeing a picture of his home on his moment after the first snow this year. Next to the picture, he wrote: “For when I am weak, then I am strong”. He didn't fail his family. He fought till the end and never gave up.
 
This is the Sen I know. And this is the Sen I will always remember!