立秋

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

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 deceitful and misleading.

A few weeks back, my aunt’s friend introduced me to another guy. “A Beida graduate, an MBA degree in Germany, a chief representative of a German company… sounds like a “diamond bachelor”. Then I received an email with his picture attached. Remember how you felt when you first saw the news of Michael Jackson’s death? Shocked; wondering if it was a joke; couldn’t believe it was true; sad. That’s exactly how I felt when I saw his picture.

I was sorry for myself. For those who know nothing about me but want to be a matchmaker, thanks for your kindness. You know, when I was desperately in need of a job some years ago, if you could help me with half the enthusiasm, I might be working for the UN today. But nobody ever helped. I came to where I am today all by myself.

I understand match making must be very rewarding and can bring a strong sense of satisfaction. But do a little research before you do it, please.

Summer days in bloom

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

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. Whatever, maybe I’m over-sensitive about “filtering”. Trust me, I’m old enough to judge what is “healthy” and what is not. But the new rule did hasten my decision to buy a new laptop. It’s a pity I can’t wait for Windows 7 to go on the market.

Now what shall I do with my old laptop? It’s still usable; it just works slowly, like an old man gradually losing his agility. However old it is, I love the rhythmical sound made by the fingertips tapping on the keyboard. It’s been with me for too long to be let go.

Big city, small world

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 world turns out to be so small. Yesterday I was chatting with some friends on msn, and I realize they actually are living in every corner of the world. Our communication is amazingly easy.

But right here blogspot remains blocked.

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

Not going anywhere

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 photos this Monday, followed by another friend's wedding invitation. 2009. Friends getting married. Alas! I’m so left behind.