Life caught between rewind and fast-forward

When a pessimist reads Schopenhauer

2012-02-21T21:54:00.003+08:00

I didn’t like philosophy and I used to have the preconception that those who do are kind of neurotic. However, Schopenhauer changed my view. The great philosopher awakened the pessimist living inside me. A few excerpts from Studies in Pessimism: No little part of the torment of existence lies in this, that Time is continually pressing upon us, never letting us take breath, but always coming

修鞋记

2012-02-16T21:42:00.001+08:00

一直觉得小区门口的修鞋摊是个很有人情味的地方。修鞋的女子大概三十几岁，似乎跟周围的街坊都很熟。春节假期后的第一个周末去修鞋，路过的一些老人都会跟她打个招呼，问声过年好，顺便拉拉家常。聊天中得知她刚坐了三十多个小时汽车从甘肃回到北京，我问她是甘肃哪里的，她说老家在陇南那边，靠近四川。我这才注意到她脸上还真有一抹高原红。也许那只是常年风吹日晒留下的痕迹。我不禁好奇起来。她在北京会住怎样的房子？过怎样的生活？为什么要背井离乡，来大城市做这么辛苦的工作？我想如果自己生在农村，大概会留在家乡种地吧。类似的问题我考虑过很多年都没有找到答案。或者我只是在杞人忧天罢了。修鞋那天天气还算晴朗，站在阳光下有感而发。

Ladies team

2012-02-08T12:05:00.001+08:00

With a new employee on board this week, the number of staff in our China office reached 20 – 4 guys, 16 gals. Some have kids, all daughters by the way. This company is cursed. Sometimes I really need a private moment during work, probably just 2 seconds to take a deep breath and sigh in the bathroom. But half the time it’s not vacant. It is the last place I wanna say hi to a co-worker. Me,

Infant Joy

2012-02-03T11:51:00.000+08:00

春节真是一个百无聊赖的节日，似乎前前后后的一个月都不在状态。节后的北京干燥寒冷，天空终于放晴。亮马河上已经结了厚厚的一层冰，记得放假前去河边散步，有人滑冰、钓鱼、冬泳，好不热闹。 A poem to my cousin who just gave birth to a boy Infant Joy By William Blake "I have no name; I am but two days old." What shall I call thee? "I happy am, Joy is my name." Sweet joy befall thee! Pretty joy! Sweet joy, but two days old. Sweet Joy I call thee: Thou dost smile, I sing the while; Sweet joy

Hope

2012-01-27T15:58:00.000+08:00

What do people do when they meet during the Spring Festival? Exchange information about each other and their families. Some good; some sad. Anyway it’s a new start and let’s hope for the best. Hope by: Emily Dickinson Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be

Guilty pleasures

2012-01-23T13:03:00.000+08:00

1. Doing nothing It’s a long Spring Festival holiday, besides eating and sleeping, nothing else to do. Woke up early in the morning, quietly expecting a ray of sunlight to slant through the curtains. What an enjoyable moment! 2. ipad We didn’t need an ipad before it was invented, but once we have one, we become attached to it. Every week I try the new apps and then delete them. That’s all. When

Midnight in Paris

2012-01-17T20:23:00.002+08:00

Monet. Paris. A Moveable Feast. A beautiful movie.

Ah! 2012

2012-01-10T21:57:00.002+08:00

The new year means nothing but a change of number – 2012. Look at the sky – still shrouded by smog, as if it were the end of the world. More cars stuck on the roads as if running away from a catastrophe. Supermarkets are packed as if a wave of panic buying were triggered. The city becomes crazier than usual. It’s all because the lunar new year is coming!

Holiday phobia

2011-12-28T11:45:00.000+08:00

The year end is not just about holidays and bonuses. It’s tough, hectic and weary. One gathering after another… batches of people to social with… A people person may enjoy it. Unfortunately, I’m not. Why are we so different? I learnt this very interesting theory in my psychology course: Eysenck proposed that extraversion was caused by variability in cortical arousal: "introverts are

Freudian slip

2011-10-19T20:30:00.000+08:00

心理学的课程暂告一段落，留下厚厚的一摞书要看。11月考试和出差撞到一起，那就明年再说吧。 16号参加同事的婚礼，碰到刚跳槽到Mckinsey的老同事。听她聊新工作，每天跟各个国家的人沟通，也蛮有意思的。有一次她写邮件把flight拼成了fight，老板回复说这是一个Freudian slip，哈哈。不了解心理学的人可能要google一下才能找到答案。这又何尝不是在工作中学习的机会？她说想想以前在SPE的工作真是太轻松了。我又有点confused，不知道是否应该做一份累、挣得多、能学到东西的工作还是维持现状。人真是不容易满足。不过要是有一天真的达到了Maslow所说的自我实现，人生大概也就没有追求了吧。

2011-09-30T16:19:00.000+08:00

The clock is ticking – only 3 months left in 2011. Time flies so fast. Some friends and cousins have babies this year. Some colleagues move on to new positions. I can feel the peer pressure. But I’m afraid any change will break my balance. I don’t know if I can take a job which is over 3 km from home. Beijing has been growing explosively in recent years. Commuting between home and office is a

On the crossroad

2011-08-02T20:39:00.002+08:00

It’s my last 20-something birthday. I received a job offer from SPE on my 25th birthday and didn’t hesitate to accept it. Just a moment ago I turned down another offer. I don’t know if it’s right to believe my intuition. There are some similarities between looking for a job and looking for an apartment. I remember the kind of rooms which I don’t want to stay long as soon as I get inside. There is

New priority

2011-07-04T21:56:00.001+08:00

For the past half year, I’ve been showing this wait-and-see attitude towards my job and the company. I wasn’t surprised that HR in Singapore office failed to confirm my bonus and promotion which usually should have been done by the end of June. It would astonish me if they were ever able to meet deadlines, while Beijing office was so unreachable and there was actually no deadline. Who cares? It

Ready to move on

2011-05-30T21:12:00.000+08:00

SPT的新员工今天入职，是个毕业不到一年的姑娘。能拿到这份offer，应该是很幸运的。AXN的招聘也基本尘埃落定，一直以为要招个男生做销售，结果还是会来个小女生。通过这次招聘我开始重新审视自己当初的选择和目前的状态。收到的简历根本就没有出身名校或者五百强公司的。背景好的人大概都don’t give a shit about sony pictures。想想四年前进公司的时候，可是名校加上知名外企的背景，比其他同级别同事的背景要好得多。快四年了，最初的骄傲和兴奋丧失殆尽，对公司失去了耐心和信心。尽管每年的performance review总是被归在exceed expectations那栏，工资的涨幅却一直都是single digit。升职的事老板从去年开始已经提了不下三次，每次说完便杳无音信。公司的发展空间也确实很有限。再等最后一个月。 I finally come to the

Debut presentation

2011-05-11T21:03:00.000+08:00

"Aside from death, speaking in front of large audiences is the most feared activity for adults." I read this from an HR training material, one chapter of which was about presentation skills, on a plane to Shenzhen where I was supposed to give a presentation to our affiliates last month. Doing presentations in class used to be a task I hated most when I was in colleague. Usually quiet and low

My very superficial impressions of America

2011-05-07T10:41:00.004+08:00

From a tourist’s perspective, America is the most unmysterious country in the world with all its brands spreading aggressively to every obscure corner of the world. Maybe you can’t live for one day without using a made-in-China product; I can’t live for one day without using an American brand. For example, right now I’m typing in Microsoft word. Traveling in America is a journey of verifying

Getting things done

2011-04-11T21:15:00.003+08:00

A new fiscal year starts in Apr. It’s been a busy month, too busy to look forward to my upcoming trip across the Pacific this Saturday. Focusing completely on my job keeps me away other distractions. My cousin gave birth to a baby girl last month on the European Continent. She doesn’t work. While I’ve been having doubts about my job, and sometimes I can’t figure out what I’m going to do if I’m

Social network in the real world

2011-03-07T21:52:00.007+08:00

Spring is coming. Everything is waking slowly to the warm sunshine. Business activities become alive again. It was because of a series of coincidences that I could attend Casbaa's online video forum last week. With my boss on biz trip and another co-worker leaving, it was my turn. Formal dress and light makeup made me feel like a different person, as if they had driven away all the winter blues.

局外人

2011-02-14T21:53:00.002+08:00

春节，情人节，元宵节。二月的节日一个接一个，却丝毫开心不起来。节日只不过是给了平时不联系的acquaintance一个联系的机会。亲戚朋友聚在一起的话题已经离不开结婚生子。我像局外人一样。不敢也不愿意说什么。昨天大学一个宿舍的同学聚了聚。五个人，两对夫妻加上我 --- 形单影只，落寞不堪。校园里的人和事已经变得模糊，同学之间也渐渐疏离。有时候宴席散了就散了，再聚首好像也没有意义。时间总是会冲淡一切。八零后的同龄人已经有了自己的家庭，剩下的就像罪人一样，这就是所谓的peer pressure. 面对压力，我无力抵抗，只能保持沉默。希望不要在沉默中灭亡。

Where to buy new year cards in Beijing

2011-01-26T22:13:00.000+08:00

The spring festival is just around the corner and we decided to buy some new year cards for clients at last minute. But it turned out to be a very frustrating experience. The post office had sold out all the new year cards. Watson’s, which used to sell greeting cards some years ago, no longer sold any today. Neither did the stationery store. Yesterday I waited 25 minutes in minus 6 degrees to

California Dreamin'

2011-01-23T11:44:00.003+08:00

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray I've been for a walk on a winter's day I'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A. California dreamin' on such a winter's day Stopped in to a church I passed along the way Well I got down on my knees and I pretend to pray You know the preacher liked the cold, he knows I'm gonna stay California dreamin' on such a winter's day All the leaves are brown and

An unhappy ending

2010-12-23T21:43:00.002+08:00

The last workday of 2010 is over. Finally. 2010 ends with disappoints, disappointed with Beijing, with my job. Over the past decade Beijing has grown more and more uninhabitable. The number of automobiles in the capital has more than doubled since 2002, reaching over 4.5 million today and far outgrown road networks. Main roads are basically parking lots even at high noon, making traveling

Do we still need translators?

2010-12-13T21:31:00.001+08:00

A few weeks ago I was helping a friend translate two college application essays from Chinese to English. The essays were about his travels around the world and they added up to 5,000 Chinese characters or so. He’d been to 40 countries and visited numerous scenic spots: the fjords of Sweden, Salamis of Cyprus, Santorini of Greece, the Bosphorus Bridge of Turkey… Many of the names were new to me,

Fish Tank

2010-12-12T17:22:00.000+08:00

Fish Tank is a gruff and ruthless version of An Education. Both movies are the best I’ve seen this year.

不吐不快

2010-11-19T22:57:00.003+08:00

出趟差累得像狗一样。等电梯的时候旁边人的高跟鞋嘎达嘎达不耐烦地敲着大理石地面，公交车里的人吧嗒吧嗒地嚼着口香糖。 So damn annoying!!! Or what’s wrong with me? 本来以为板上钉钉的升职被莫名其妙地无限延期，而原来可能quit掉的同事却抢先一步。怎么都想不明白究竟怎么回事。看来三年半，要么升职，要么滚蛋。

3 days in Shanghai

2010-11-14T12:22:00.000+08:00

Candle lights flickered in the dark, as though they were dancing rhythmically to the music. Zpark bar must be named after Zhongshan Park. Again, we are in Shanghai, doing the same job, meeting the same people, staying in the same place. 11月初应该是上海最舒服的季节。这次顺路去了周庄。很小的一个景区，跟乌镇和西塘相比，并没有特别的地方。大概江南水乡都是这个样子，去一个足矣。没报希望，也就没有失望。田子坊虽说是创意区，却被餐馆和酒吧占据了大半，空气中弥漫着炒菜的油烟味。本来就很窄的弄堂里挤满了各国游客，坐在户外吃饭的人就像动物园里的动物一样，

October booklist

2010-11-02T21:49:00.001+08:00

It’s already November, cold and dry. What happened last month? A long holiday at home. Shitty weather in Beijing. And… did some reading. Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick A few decades ago China was as closed as its neighbor North Korea. It’s interesting that China today has become one of the destinations to which North Koreans are trying to escape. People may

Those crazy years

2010-09-30T08:15:00.005+08:00

Found some pictures of China's cultural revolution Red, shocking red. What has changed over the decades? And what has not changed? The pictures can tell.

When a Billion Chinese Jump

2010-09-25T19:18:00.001+08:00

An essential and incisive discussion on China today - a country on an environmental precipice that will affect the entire world. When a Billion Chinese Jump tells the story of China’s – and the world’s – biggest crisis. With foul air, filthy water, rising temperatures and encroaching deserts, China is already suffering an environmental disaster. Now it faces a stark choice: either accept

Temperature roller coaster

2010-09-19T10:49:00.001+08:00

One day it was 30℃, the next day it was 13℃ after the rain. Ai! And the traffic… Beijing is like a time bomb. Sooner or later it will explode.

I miss it...

2010-09-15T21:14:00.000+08:00

It's AWESOME! Don't even need to PS the pictures.

Readjusting

2010-09-04T20:51:00.003+08:00

Sep 3 3 years anniversary working for SPE. Boss returned to work after 4.5 months maternity leave. Every day people talk about housing and children. Everyone is exhausted. Sep 4 Went to QS MBA tour. Bumped into an old colleague AGAIN! She just left Dow Jones. Readjusting to life in Beijing. It’s difficult. Once in a while I think of Canary Wharf, my last stop in London before heading

Back

2010-08-29T18:00:00.005+08:00

The hubbub and long queues at Beijing airport told me the summer fling was over. It was also one evening in the last week of August in 2000 that I first arrived in the capital. What did not change over a whole decade was the hot weather which made me feel really bad. The difference is the city is no longer new to me today. Ok. The trip to Britain was great, as I had expected. It was more than

2010-08-07T21:46:00.004+08:00

The scene is perfect, all we need is a blue sky. 在北外四年，居然没有去过紫竹院公园。上周六在国图上完课，顺便去拍了几张照片，试试我的LX3. 可惜北京很难见到蓝天。周日天气突然就凉快了，很奇怪。又一个同事离开了。前两天还在看杜拉拉，最后一集记得她说，都走了，我都有些不认识这个地方了。公司就是这样，铁打的营盘流水的兵。对于我们的新加坡同事，平时更多是通过email/skype沟通，好多人还没见过面就say goodbye了。还是那句老话，天下没有不散的宴席。离开也是一个新的开始。 So, that’s it. One week to go. Can't wait for the getaway...

Next stop: UK

2010-07-13T21:30:00.002+08:00

Dreaming about a visa refusal, I jolted out of sleep at 2am today. Luckily, it was just a dream. After 12 days’ waiting, I finally got my tourist visa to the UK this morning. The excruciating experience is a test of my patience, which I really really lack. Traveling should be spontaneous. What had stopped me from traveling abroad in the past was the complicated visa application procedure. The

Suddenly into calligraphy

2010-06-20T16:56:00.001+08:00

In a carton blanketed with thick dust, an old booklet about Chinese calligraphy caught my attention. It was hand-written and printed on a kind of carbon paper. A printer was unheard of back in 1991. It’s been 19 years since I last practiced calligraphy. I decided to pick it up. Calligraphy used to be a mandatory course when I was in primary school. But I doubt if it still is today when a kid

胡思乱想

2010-06-03T22:11:00.004+08:00

夜深了，公交车还在疯狂地咆哮着。心情不好，又没有人诉说，只能在这里瞎写一番，希望不好的情绪能在敲击键盘的过程中得到释放。天气热，人也变得很懒，不饿的时候连吃饭的欲望都没有。朋友好像都很忙，忙工作，忙考试、出国。相比之下，我似乎是一个完全没有追求的人。安于现状，顺其自然。记得去年年底公司聚餐的时候，我们的VP说了一个特别好的词“无欲”。想必我现在就是这种状态。No desire for anything. I guess I’ve somewhat achieved the Taoist ideal of non-attachment.其实本来性格就很laid-back，不愿意去争什么，只是工作中有时候需要改变一下自己。很佩服那些对未来有明确规划的人，但我做不到。为了一个目标去做一件事会很累。什么也不要想，什么都不要做，大脑一片空白。

Deadline

2010-06-03T21:09:00.000+08:00

Speaking of cultural differences, I thought of another example. My job involves a lot of liaison between Chinese clients and our Singaporean colleagues. When I need something from a Singaporean colleague, they always ask what the deadline is. Without a deadline, I’m afraid things will be dragged on for years. But for many Chinese, this may be a stupid question and they just tell me ASAP. Damn it!

Our big boss’s age is a big secret!

2010-05-25T21:47:00.000+08:00

Earlier this year, my boss’s boss, the VP based in our head office in Singapore came to Beijing for a couple of meetings. One of our clients, a state owned company, wanted to give him a present – something that indicated his animal sign. Well, that equals to asking for one’s age, which is invariably a secret. Both our boss and his assistant happened to be out of the office that day, so I turned

夏天来了

2010-05-21T21:27:00.002+08:00

街边饭馆儿的座位又摆到了户外，烤串儿的炉子又冒起了浓烟。院儿里的孩子突然冒了出来，路上的姑娘们迫不及待地穿起了连衣裙。突然之间，已是夏天。今年北京的春天是十年来持续时间最短的一个春天。烟台这时候还很凉快。原来这十年来并不是全球变暖导致春天越来越短，而是内地的气候就是如此。不喜欢夏天。不喜欢夏天的热。

Clean eating

2010-05-11T20:14:00.000+08:00

Consuming food in its most natural state – or as close as possible to it – is the soul of clean eating. It’s not a diet; it’s a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to health, well-being and a lean look. Yes, it's exactly what I've been aiming at. Going veg may be hard, but eating clean is least I can do.

A mark

2010-04-25T18:37:00.000+08:00

It’s still not warm in late-Apr. This time five years ago, it was already hot like summer. I actually have written proof – my diary. It was from then that I started writing a journal to keep a record of what had happened in the university of life. Blogging became ubiquitous a few years later. In this way, my experiences are compressed into a couple of word documents and some web pages.

Beijing snapshots

2010-04-20T16:23:00.004+08:00

magnolia behind the Apple store Sanlitun village t-shirt store @南锣鼓巷大栅栏 Is it the narrowest alley in Beijing? plum blossom at night

A glimpse of Tianjin

2010-04-19T14:14:00.000+08:00

Shanghai before the expo

2010-04-12T20:07:00.000+08:00

view from the hotel 外白渡桥（Garden Bridge of Shanghai ） Every time I tried to see and walk across the famous Waibaidu bridge, it was either the bridge or the Bund that was under construction. Finally it was over and here it is. The bridge appeared in many movies, including Spielberg’s Empire of the sun –

An Education

2010-04-11T11:19:00.003+08:00

I didn’t watch this movie until last weekend. After being bombarded by the dazzling special effects of Avatar and Alice in wonderland, a bittersweet coming of age story feels so refreshing. The 60’s fashion and music are classic. Maybe I should read the book.

Post sandstorm syndrome

2010-03-26T19:48:00.002+08:00

I am coughing my lungs out today. It must be resulting from the sandstorm on Monday. Ai!!! How can I love spring when it hurts so much! You know, it’s not possible to wear sunglasses and a face mask at the same time because the lenses will be moistened when you exhale. So between your eyes and your lungs, you can only choose one. It’s no longer global warming. It’s called “global weirding”,

Weird dreams

2010-03-15T21:24:00.002+08:00

One thing I like about winter is that I always sleep well when the nights are long and quiet. Now spring is coming and I begin to have weird dreams. I actually rarely remember them, but there are exceptions. One morning last week I woke up and recalled I was converted to a vampire. What had happened in the dream was quite blurry. It was neither bloody nor scary, and it must be the most dramatic

Goodbye winter

2010-03-10T20:08:00.002+08:00

4 1/2 months in a long down coat, Snow on March 8. "It's the coldest winter in ten years." Said the meteorologist. Nah… It’s the coldest winter as far as I remember. Twigs are budding, Ice is thawing. Cold front is on the wane, Warm spell is on the way. Goodbye winter, See you in November.

Addiction

2010-03-06T22:07:00.003+08:00

Sitting in front of the desk, trying to write something, but haven’t got a clue on where to start. Unconsciously, I clicked on taobao again. It’s such a treasure trove! Anything you can think of or things beyond your imagination are available 24/7 at irresistible prices. All you need is a pair of discerning eyes to pick out the good stuff. The other day I checked my account to find out how

The odyssey

2010-01-31T11:14:00.001+08:00

Over the past few years, relatives and friends have been trying to find a match for me, but sadly, it didn’t work out. Before I forget, let me note them down and allow me to explain the reasons. 1. Mr. C was a fresh postgraduate when he was introduced to me, while I’ve left college for three years, working and looking for my niche. He was young. 2. Mr. L was also a fresh postgraduate, who

大寒

2010-01-20T21:40:00.003+08:00

几十年来最冷的冬天，冷空气一场接一场，整个北半球都在经历着extreme weather. 寒冷并不可怕，多穿点就ok了。出门的时候裹得严严实实，寒风一吹，居然有种醍醐灌顶的感觉。只是去年秋天新买的羊毛大衣一直没有机会穿，看来要等到三月份了。南方应该可以穿很久吧。总是遇到不靠谱的人、不靠谱的事，就连在自己的blog上发个贴都要费一番周折。唉！Why can’t make it simple?

Miss He goes to India

2010-01-03T13:29:00.002+08:00

“Miss He”, my surname which sounds like “ho” in Chinese was wrongly pronounced as the pronoun “he” in English at the Delhi airport check-in counter. “You have two boarding cards, one for Delhi to Shanghai and the other Shanghai to Beijing.” At the boarding gate I was intercepted. Several guys looked at the two boarding cards, confused. “Follow me, please”, a woman said. I was wondering what

Tomorrow is another day... another year... another decade

2009-12-31T14:58:00.006+08:00

Every December there is an onslaught of year-end lists to pore over. “The most…” and “top…” fill the pages. I don’t want to do the same here. What makes 2009 different is that a lot of people I know got married: friends, relatives, colleagues, clients, friends’ friends… It is said that 2010 is not a good year for marriage because there’s no spring on the lunar calendar. Believe it or not. I

Cold air

2009-12-19T21:14:00.003+08:00

North wind howls, Draining the last water molecule from my skin. Spine chills, Teeth tremble. Hair smells of dust, As though I have been to the desert. Saltless tears roll down, They are not tears of joy or sorrow, It’s all because of the wind.

Dec

2009-12-01T22:20:00.001+08:00

“One, two, three!” The MC was counting when I walked out of the elevator after work. “Bang!” Paper crackers were exploding. It’s another Christmas light up ceremony @ Landmark. The calendar was turned to the last page. Dec is the busiest month, trying to rush out everything before the year ends. As usual, I’ll write a brief “summary”. It’s become a habit. The year will pass, but words remain.

Low carbon living

2009-11-18T16:21:00.000+08:00

I’ve been isolating myself at home for 3 days due to the cold. Finally I flipped through all the magazines I bought last season and noticed a new buzzword “low carbon living”. Here it goes:50 ideas for shrinking your carbon footprintHere are some recommendations to get you started. Avoid overwhelming yourself with drastic changes. It’s best to view this process like you would if you were adopting

A stolen Monday

2009-11-16T18:21:00.001+08:00

The weather is so abnormal this year. The first snow fell on the 1st of Nov. Two blizzards followed. Winter came before I was ready for it. I have a cold. “You should rest.” My boss said. I’m actually fine except for the sore throat. Anyway, I’d better not stay in the office. It’s a nice and quiet day at home. I made myself a pot of stewed pear and papaya with rock sugar. It’s easy but tastes

Biz trip to Shanghai

2009-11-08T21:29:00.000+08:00

Every time when I’m on a biz trip, lying in bed in a strange hotel, I always feel myself going off track of my normal life. The messes and unhappiness seem like a million miles away, a million years ago, as though they were not mine but someone else’s.这次住在郊区，周六一早忙完收尾工作便赶到市区，和好朋友聚一聚。又一次来到淮海路，去了新开的Barbie旗舰店。每次到上海总能发现北京没有的东西，也算不枉来一趟。昨天下午地铁里还开着冷气，而北方这时候已经来暖气了。

A Language of Smiles

2009-10-28T20:31:00.002+08:00

An interesting article from the NYT:Say “eeee.” Say it again. Go on: “eeee.”Maybe I’m easy to please, but doing this a few times makes me giggle. “Eeee.”Actually, I suspect it’s not just me. Saying “eeee” pulls up the corners of the mouth and makes you start to smile. That’s why we say “cheese” to the camera, not “choose” or “chose.” And, I think, it’s why I don’t get the giggles from “aaaa” or “

This Is It

2009-10-27T21:40:00.003+08:00

Michael Jackson’s This Is It premieres at 12mn. As staff members of Sony Pictures, each of us was given a movie ticket. MJ’s fans must be dying for such a chance. But I won’t go tonight because it’s too late for me. I’m never a night owl. I can’t imagine myself wandering in a deserted street in the wee hours of the morning. And I’m not alone. It’s even more unbelievable that some of our clients

Drag Me to Hell

2009-10-14T21:30:00.002+08:00

For so many years, horror movie has always been my favourite.Turn off the lights. Switch off the mobile phone. Allow me 90 minutes in a make-believe world, where all the real annoyances are forgotten.

黄昏

2009-09-29T18:32:00.001+08:00

初秋是北京一年中最美的季节，而黄昏又是一天中我最喜欢的时刻。初秋的黄昏，空气中还残留着夏日的余温，萧瑟的秋风和枯黄的落叶仿佛还很遥远。天色渐暗，华灯初上，路上行人的步履也不像清晨般匆匆忙忙。国庆将至，昨天下班回家的时候发现马路上每隔几十米就站着警察，加上九月份以来隔三差五的交通管制，给平淡的城市平添了紧张气氛。九月这最美好的时光如同黄昏般昙花一现，在不知不觉中被湮没了。

Cloudy with a chance of mooncakes

2009-09-24T19:03:00.000+08:00

The other day I was taking a box of mooncakes back home. The concierge saw me and said: “Why is everyone carrying mooncakes today?” Of course, it’s Mid-Autumn!Every August, our team would brainstorm a non-mooncake yet presentable gift to our clients. Still, the majority would yield to convention. Just like dumplings for the lantern festival, chocolates for Valentine, mooncake is a deeply

City Rouge

2009-09-18T19:24:00.001+08:00

The national day celebration rehearsal is held on this cloudy Friday. Traffic on main roads is blocked. People whose offices are near the Changan avenue don't need to go to work today. Our office is closed at 3pm. I went to the 7-11 at 4pm, only to find the door locked. Last year when the opening ceremony of the Olympics was held, we also had one day off. Special “holidays” – it's one of the

Where have all the DVDs gone?

2009-09-01T21:09:00.001+08:00

The DVD store used to hide in the backroom of an obscure clothing boutique beside the north 3rd ring road. From the hottest Hollywood blockbusters to the hard-to-find European art films and documentaries, it’s a treasure trove of movies. And the price is probably the lowest in Beijing. As the saying goes, “Good wine needs no bush”. The small store always gathers movie buffs. One day last spring,

立秋

2009-08-07T21:45:00.000+08:00

雷雨过后的天气格外潮湿闷热，仿佛伸手在空气中抓一把便能挤出水来。院子里的孩子无忧无虑地荡着秋千。老头老太太们悠闲地散着步。打开窗户，公交车一辆接一辆地呼啸而过，马达声震耳欲聋。路边的垃圾箱里散发着西瓜皮的恶臭。蚊子像吸血鬼般肆意地捕食着猎物。这就是夏天。年年如此。整个城市都躁动不安。大脑似乎停止了思考，根本无法concentrate。七月终于过去。立秋之后天气依然闷热不堪，不过总算看到些希望。

Blind date 2

2009-07-15T21:15:00.005+08:00

Back in 2007, a friend of mine said she would introduce a “帅哥” (literally meaning a handsome man) to me. I was expecting a very good-looking guy, but I was over-optimistic. When I met him in person, I realized I had misinterpreted the meaning of “帅哥”. It was stupid of me to relate the word to its literal meaning. No, it’s simply a substitute word for man. I learned a lesson that day: words can be

Summer days in bloom

2009-06-24T21:56:00.001+08:00

记得去年夏天这个时候,，每次打开新加坡同事寄来的FedEx，盒子里总是冒着热气，仿佛快递把新加坡湿热的空气也一起带到了北京。又是一年盛夏。很喜欢最近一段时间北京清澈蔚蓝的天空。每天早上灿烂的阳光洒在身上，有种很温暖的感觉。白天办公室里的温度是Forever 21。不忙的时候，泡上一杯红茶，看一看节目，一个小时便匆匆而过。傍晚下班的时候，太阳依旧在烘烤着大地，迟迟不肯离去。热。心却静如止水。

Bon Vista

2009-06-22T19:52:00.000+08:00

My 6-year-old laptop hasn't been working well for a couple of months. Despite all the criticism I heard about Windows vista, I bought this new computer with the new operating system pre-installed. It doesn’t seem so bad. I just need some time to get used to it.Starting July 1, all PCs sold in China should include a web-filtering software called Green damn. Oops! Sorry, it’s green dam-youth escort

Big city, small world

2009-06-17T22:21:00.005+08:00

Cloudy. Suddenly feel unsafe without wearing sunglasses. I’m avoiding eye contacts with people different from me. The sunglasses shield the impolite gaze from strangers and the crowds of mingongs staring at urban dwellers with curious eyes.Just bumped into an old coworker. I thought the chance of running into a friend in a city as enormous as Beijing was zero. But

The not-so-old classics... and Coraline

2009-06-14T09:02:00.004+08:00

Not going anywhere

2009-05-29T17:40:00.001+08:00

A 4-day holiday is too short to go out, yet too long to stay in. This time last year, I was on a biz trip to Shanghai. Today, however, due to the bad economic situation, marketing events are either postponed or cancelled. My workload is somewhat lessened. The hot weather coupled with the risk of contracting H1N1 makes traveling not so appropriate. So I’m stuck. I received a friend's wedding

Blooming flowers

2009-05-09T21:17:00.005+08:00

All pictures taken at the Beijing Botanical Garden in late Apr.Spring is ephemeral. Summer arrived before I had a chance to try my new spring dress. It’s not exaggerating to say Beijing is a city of two seasons: winter and summer.

Flashbacks in May

2009-05-03T16:35:00.005+08:00

From a stack of old textbooks, I dug out Introduction to Literature.On a cool autumn morning, in a classroom in the newly-built Yifulou, the professor was reading Shakespeare with his royal British accent:Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?Thou are more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And Summer's lease hath all too short a date…A final exam paper was

"Sorry, the number you dialed does not exist."

2009-04-26T11:34:00.003+08:00

“… Would you consider selling or renting your apartment?”“No.” I must have received a million calls from these real estate agencies.“Hello, blah blah blah…”When I heard the word “insurance”, I hung up the phone.“… Are you interested in joining our equestrian club?”“What?!” I still can’t figure out how my number fell into the hands of an equestrian club.“Brand new BMW: 50,000RMB, Toyota: 30,000RMB

H&M finally opens in Beijing

2009-04-23T20:59:00.004+08:00

The opening of H&M’s first store in Beijing must have created quite a sensation. I can imagine that. I’ve been to the stores in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Nanjing. It’s become a must-shop during my travels. I like it not just because it’s cheap and chic. What matters more is I couldn’t have it in Beijing. It’s the rarity that makes it more alluring. People are always desperate for things they cannot

Walking Bruges

2009-04-22T20:30:00.005+08:00

Picturesque scenery, nice music, great acting, witty dialogues and a juice story… what else can I expect from a movie? HBO Asia is airing the fairy tale version of In Bruges, as all the f-words have been surreptitiously deleted. It’s more fun watching it on DVD.

Spring

2009-04-11T17:56:00.001+08:00

Willow leaves are gently dancing in the wind;Cherry blossoms are silently drifting to ground;White clouds are smiling in the sky;Bright sunshine is shimmering on the river.I’ve been walking a lot recently and my foot hurt. After seeing the doctor yesterday morning, I was in no hurry to go to work. Slowing down, I discovered the peaceful scene. It’s right around our office building beside Liangma

A week in the south

2009-04-04T14:08:00.006+08:00

XitangWuzhenSunset, HangzhouLeifengta equipped with elevators, omg!Taiziwan park, HangzhouSuzhou

烟花三月下江南

2009-03-29T14:54:00.004+08:00

也许因为2月只有28天，所以一直感觉3月是一年中最漫长的一个月，于是休假去了南方。第一站是南京。阴沉的天空，破旧的建筑，这个城市给我的第一印象是一个落寞的古都。中午刚到就遇上雷阵雨，天空瞬间犹如夜晚，正好被困在新街口的商场，逛了久违的H&M。南京并没有江南水乡的细腻和浪漫，如果不是好友从上海赶来做伴，这将是一段单调的旅程。临走前一天晚上特意去吃了朋友推荐的鸭血粉丝汤，没有留下遗憾。然后来到苏州，小桥流水，白墙黑瓦，一个很精致的小城，只是人工雕凿的痕迹太重。苏州人怎样，短短的一天或许不足以公正地评价。但是下了火车就不断碰壁，甚为扫兴，于是第二天一早便踏上下一站的旅途。非常幸运，到杭州头几天一直阳光明媚。一下车看到马路两边绿绿葱葱的大树，便明白了上海人为什么会把杭州称作他们的后花园。在路边看站牌的时候，有人问我要去哪儿。其实我也不知道，只想随便走走，看看沿路的风景，

A story of innocence in a world of ignorance

2009-02-25T21:01:00.002+08:00

Cubicle rules

2009-02-22T11:57:00.002+08:00

For Chinese working in foreign companies, one should understand the following rules, which cannot be found in the employee handbook.1. Salaries are confidential. We usually print on blank paper in the office, but the other day our environmental-friendly HR lady put some used paper in the printer and I happened to be printing ahead of her. Then I turned the pages and noticed something I shouldn’t

Moment in Peking

2009-02-14T11:39:00.001+08:00

... But Mulan was a child of Peking. She had grown up there and had drunk in all the richness of life of the city which enveloped its inhabitants like a great mother soft toward all the children’s requests, fulfilling all their whims and desires, or like a huge thousand-year-old tree in which the insects making their home in one branch did not know what the insects in the other branch were doing.

Qingdao, 1931

2009-01-31T18:35:00.004+08:00

It was more than a decade ago that I last visited this old house where my grandparents used to live. The blue door plate writes the address from which I once received LETTERS in the 90s; the red wooden spiral stairs lead home on the second floor; inside, the big family squeezed in the bed as the room was too packed for chairs; the black-and-white family photo is still hanging on the wall, but the

2008 in pictures

2009-01-13T20:28:00.003+08:00

Been to some interesting places during the past one year and here they are: Cambodia, Dec. Outside the forbidden city, Beijing, Oct.Houhai, Beijing, Oct.Duolun Road, Shanghai, Mar.

A journey across time

2009-01-04T16:16:00.001+08:00

It happened to be Christmas Day when we arrived at Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. It was 9pm, humid after the rain. There was no trace of the festival. The streets were quiet and dimly lit and scattered with stalls selling local foods. The scene suddenly reminded me of my hometown in the 80s.The journey began the next day. After a six hours’ drive, we were in Siem Reap. The bumpy and dusty

Year-end

2008-12-06T15:05:00.001+08:00

The freezing weather heralds the arrival of the festive season and the end of 2008. Christmas light-ups, year-end parties, New Year concerts… if it weren’t for these events, winter would be dull and sad. People in the street wear either black or dark blue. Willows are no longer willowy; they are shrinking like an old man. The creepers clinging to the wall are lifeless. Only the sunshine is

Family ties rediscovered

2008-11-09T11:39:00.004+08:00

My cousins and I grew up in different cities. We only see each other once or twice a year. When my younger brother suddenly appeared in Beijing on Friday, a weird scene came to my mind: after a childish squabble, the two of us sitting back to back on a stone elephant in a park in Qingdao, reluctant to take pictures together. That was almost two decades ago. Yesterday’s shy boy has grown into a

A taste of summer in Singapore

2008-10-12T13:56:00.003+08:00

Flying from Beijing to Singapore, we’ve crossed two seasons. Apart from the climate, few things impressed me during this trip. Maybe it’s because I’ve been here once; or perhaps the two countries are too much alike.In the evening, people of different colors gathered at the open air bar in Suntec city, drinking, chatting, smoking, as if the fatigue from a day in the office would morph into air

2008-10-04T15:13:00.000+08:00

秋分时节的一场雨，让我们告别了夏天。一夜之间，仿佛已是深秋。几天之后便是十一长假。回到家，发现自己经很难适应海边湿冷的气候，反而怀念起北京干燥的秋天。八年了，这座城市并没有太多变化，似乎还停留在2000年我离开时的样子，而从这里走出的人已经脱胎换骨。身边的亲戚别来无恙，除了岁月隐隐约约在脸上留下的痕迹。一切都未曾改变，是我变了。

Autumn falls

2008-09-01T19:45:00.000+08:00

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.The first Monday of September marks my one year at SPE office in Landmark building. I wouldn’t call it a landmark chapter of my life, but at least it’s not bad.The Games are over, but blue sky remains. Lush leaves are rattling in the breeze – autumn is coming. The weather is fabulous. Isn’t it a sin to squander this

Day 4: Sunny

2008-08-12T21:12:00.001+08:00

My memories about the Olympic Games are always connected to the summer holidays, those idyllic days in my hometown many years ago. I don’t remember much about the matches themselves. They seemed to be games for grown-ups.Somehow I missed the Athens Games. That year I graduated and could no long return home and enjoy a long holiday. Perhaps a first job and a first summer in BJ were much more

August Rush

2008-08-02T18:38:00.002+08:00

Beijing’s preparation for the Olympics is culminating. The capital looks great after the facelift, as though she were a bride dressed up for the wedding. She has impressive dowry: the bird’s nest, the water cube, T3 at the airport… ok, no more fanfares; we’ve had enough.The Games is so influential that it has overshadowed everything and mobilized everybody. One thing I find interesting is the

Blind date

2008-07-20T10:41:00.002+08:00

Before adding the title, I looked up the word “blind date” in Collins dictionary, which says: “A blind date is an arrangement made for you to spend a romantic evening with someone you have never met before.” I can’t help laughing reading the explanation because ironically, it’s not usually the case. I’d rather use a more accurate Chinese word “相亲”.Females, from young girls to old ladies, have an

An update

2008-07-06T16:30:00.003+08:00

When I went to Shanghai in late March, I discovered some brands never seen in Beijing, Muji, Uniqlo, Hooters… Two months later, I was roaming around the streets and was surprised to find these logos hanging on brand new buildings. The city moves so fast, as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button.A couple of weeks ago I went to Houhai in the evening. Hutongs, Siheyuans, pedicabs and boats

Mirrormask

2008-06-07T16:20:00.001+08:00

When I woke up in the morning and saw sunlight slanting through the curtain, I knew it was time for a break. So I’m having a whole week off.I always do things on a whim. Don’t want to complicate my life with plans and changes, just as I never entangle my neck or wrists with those girlish bling-blings.That summer on my way home after work, I caught sight of a guy in a swanky car at the crossing of

Back to Shanghai

2008-06-01T00:29:00.001+08:00

五月的最后三天在上海度过。又听到了软绵绵的上海话，闻到了空气中湿湿的味道。29号的晚餐是在高邮路上一家很有情调的餐厅吃的，听名字就很fancy，叫做花马天堂。然后来到浦东，蜻蜓点水般走过那些两个月前刚刚来过的地方。正大广场、滨江大道，一切都那么熟悉，只是找不回上一次雨后在清冷的江边漫步的感觉。还不够尽兴，于是来到新天地。三月底来的时候，不知是因为天气冷还是时间太早，酒吧很是清净。而这次一整条街，居然很难找到露天的空位。其实北京的三里屯应该也一样，只是没有机会去发现。并不喜欢这种嘈杂如闹市的环境，相比之下，星级酒店大堂吧那种悠闲的气氛更让人放松。后来来到一个名叫TMSK的bar，算是同事小聚。很久没有喝红酒了，突然发现几口之后浑身暖暖的感觉很舒服。出差的行程总是安排得满满的，周六能有机会跟好友见面，已经很难得，不敢奢望更多。酒店对面就是中山公园，其实在北京的时候从来没有逛公园的心情，

The earthquake

2008-05-22T20:28:00.002+08:00

I felt dizzy all of a sudden and was thinking probably I needed some candies. Earthquake was the last word that would occur to me. The pendant lamp was shaking – it was so surreal yet real.The news that the epicenter was in Sichuan sounded implausible, but true. In the blink of an eye, the obscure town became the focus of the country. By the way, where is the torch? Few seem to care.Being

The unbearable heaviness of shopping

2008-05-04T21:56:00.003+08:00

It’s a short Labor Day holiday, but people’s shopping frenzy is totally unaffected. The day before May 1st, they were queuing at the ATMs, warming up for the battles at various shopping malls. What a sign of the booming economy! But the hordes of customers kill all my desire for things and I usually end up home empty-handedly.Now I’m in favor of online shopping. Clothes, cosmetics, books,