My philosophy of blogging has always been minimalist. Text only. Maybe some pictures once a while. Definitely no links or crazy embedded youtube videos.
Time changes, so I decides to modernize my blog a little bit. I put up a section called "iFriends" where I put links to my friends' blogs. I put up another section called "iShare" to link to my favorite video clips, be it from Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert. The new Blogger also allows me to have a more organized "iArchive" section. In rare occasions, I might link to other sites, but that would be minimal. To be honest, I do not see this blog change too much. If I really want to get fancy, I would simply start another blog. That would be silly.
So how am I doing? Pretty good, actually. I get up 6:15am almost every morning. After morning exercises, I eat breakfast before I start working. My work schedule is quite flexible, so I begin to learn all sorts of stuff: MySQL, Python, Wiki, Excel, Powerpoint, R. I am very much stimulated by learning new things. Back home at night, I would just watch a DVD or some PBS documentaries. LIfe is very orderly, and I enjoy it very much. Some day I think I will blog my co-workers. Hope they wouldn't google my name and accidentally find my blog, hehe...
I will try to publish the last chapter of my dissertation in this blog soon, so my readers, if interested, will get some ideas of what I have been working on for so many years. (One reader asked me for the dissertation draft. Well, first of all, it has not been finalized yet. Second, I do not want to bore you with all 150 pages. So read the concluding chapter, and then decide whether you want to waste more time reading a doctoral thesis). I am going to meet with my advisor tomorrow for some feedbacks.
After I started working, my weekends have become more interesting. Now I really feel the taste of weekends because it is very precious. Last weekend, I went to a friend's party on Friday. Played football video game most of the time. Saturday, I went to watch a dance performance. Sunday, I watched a puppet show in the afternoon and a dance show by Bent Spoon, of which I used to be a member and choreographed my own dance piece. It was nice to see all dancer friends, hugging and greeting, all big smiles.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Ann and Erik
Sorry for being a slacker in updating my blog. So much to say, but so little time these days. So first, let me finish this friend blog: Ann and Erik. Unlike my previous entries, these are their real names. I am sure that no readers of mine will ever know who they are, so further protection is unnecessary.
Since I have preemptively claimed myself as racist in previous entries, I have no trouble to say the following out loud. I hate white-male Asian female couples, for a mixture of reasons. For one, I understand the racial hierarchy, so I partially envy those Asian girls who have an easy time climbing it and I am also partially disgusted by white guys who seek a sense of power in the relationship. For another, I pity these couples because of their usual unhappy endings. However, Ann and Erik are a different couple. Ann was a Chinese American, and Erik is a Swedish. They are the perfect couple.
Both Ann and Erik are outdoor persons. Erik joined the army for half a year and had much experience in surviving in the wilderness, on land or in the sea. Ann grew up skiing, lived in different places, is very organized, almost to an extreme. They met in a university as students. After graduation, they did some free-lance teaching of computer sciences. Ann sought further education in my university now, and Erik had a job nearly. But their passion is always in the nature, usually making friends along the trips.
I was lucky to have them as the trip leader in a snow-camping trip last week. In the car up to the mountain, we discussed the educational experiences of different countries. On the way down, we talked about why no countries could invade Sweden. Pretty random, isn’t it?
They were experienced, but they left no one behind. For the first time in a long time, I realized that I could learn so much in someone who had a completely different knowledge set. We used two sleeping bags to fend off cold; we hang two water-bottles around the neck in the jackets so the water wouldn’t freeze. We learned cross-country skiing; we learned how to tell directions from the sun; we learned a variety of knots (most of which I already forgot)…. After the trip, Ann sent us follow-up emails about the recipe of energy bars and lunch, breakfast. We got a bill: 18.82 dollars, so precise that the calculation actually filled a whole spreadsheet. Ann and Erik are leaving for Sweden soon, to see their new house after decorations.
In a way, this blog is not well planned. I do not really know Ann and Erik. Even if I know them well, their life is rich in details so that any summary descriptions in a blog will pale. However, I still want to write it. They are the people I really want to know well. They make me feel: being opposite to my life style is really really cool. I follow the plan, but they follow the passion. Isn’t that strange that they are happier than me?!
Since I have preemptively claimed myself as racist in previous entries, I have no trouble to say the following out loud. I hate white-male Asian female couples, for a mixture of reasons. For one, I understand the racial hierarchy, so I partially envy those Asian girls who have an easy time climbing it and I am also partially disgusted by white guys who seek a sense of power in the relationship. For another, I pity these couples because of their usual unhappy endings. However, Ann and Erik are a different couple. Ann was a Chinese American, and Erik is a Swedish. They are the perfect couple.
Both Ann and Erik are outdoor persons. Erik joined the army for half a year and had much experience in surviving in the wilderness, on land or in the sea. Ann grew up skiing, lived in different places, is very organized, almost to an extreme. They met in a university as students. After graduation, they did some free-lance teaching of computer sciences. Ann sought further education in my university now, and Erik had a job nearly. But their passion is always in the nature, usually making friends along the trips.
I was lucky to have them as the trip leader in a snow-camping trip last week. In the car up to the mountain, we discussed the educational experiences of different countries. On the way down, we talked about why no countries could invade Sweden. Pretty random, isn’t it?
They were experienced, but they left no one behind. For the first time in a long time, I realized that I could learn so much in someone who had a completely different knowledge set. We used two sleeping bags to fend off cold; we hang two water-bottles around the neck in the jackets so the water wouldn’t freeze. We learned cross-country skiing; we learned how to tell directions from the sun; we learned a variety of knots (most of which I already forgot)…. After the trip, Ann sent us follow-up emails about the recipe of energy bars and lunch, breakfast. We got a bill: 18.82 dollars, so precise that the calculation actually filled a whole spreadsheet. Ann and Erik are leaving for Sweden soon, to see their new house after decorations.
In a way, this blog is not well planned. I do not really know Ann and Erik. Even if I know them well, their life is rich in details so that any summary descriptions in a blog will pale. However, I still want to write it. They are the people I really want to know well. They make me feel: being opposite to my life style is really really cool. I follow the plan, but they follow the passion. Isn’t that strange that they are happier than me?!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Ski Trip!
I was cross-country skiing and snow-camping this past weekend. We all slept in 2 sleeping bags on top of two sleeping pads with all our clothes on. And it was still cold.
Big kudos to Erik and Ann for organizing this. I think I have enough materials about this couple to continue my friend series. However, now I have to go to sleep, but I promise I will get this blog done in the coming days.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
My new roommate
I have had this 3-bedroom apartment on my own for almost 20 days. I was happy that I lived like a king. An hour ago, I got a new roommate. After the initial disappointment, I am actually very happy. You know, having another person around really change the dynamics of the apartment. He has a TV, so we have decided to activate the cable. I am going to watch a lot of TV this quarter!
Friday, January 05, 2007
dissertation
I finished the whole draft of dissertation two days ago. Felt like on fire in the final chapter. Yesterday I took a day off and visited Aquarium with my friends. Today I need to revise my dissertation into something more readable.
I have been swimming recently. My routine is: one lap right-handed freestyle and one lap left-handed freestyle. After 1000 meters, swim some laps with two-handed freestyles with alternating breathing. Still not mastered it, but I am getting there.
I was just called up by a nice lady from blood center. I have been donating blood since early last year. If I go this month, this will be my fourth time. I think blood donation is really for my own ego, as if I want to prove I am as healthy as I want it to be. Also, I feel that I am in demand. Along the way, if I can do some good, why not?
I have been swimming recently. My routine is: one lap right-handed freestyle and one lap left-handed freestyle. After 1000 meters, swim some laps with two-handed freestyles with alternating breathing. Still not mastered it, but I am getting there.
I was just called up by a nice lady from blood center. I have been donating blood since early last year. If I go this month, this will be my fourth time. I think blood donation is really for my own ego, as if I want to prove I am as healthy as I want it to be. Also, I feel that I am in demand. Along the way, if I can do some good, why not?
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
A new year!
Have you ever felt this incredible urge to procrastinate? So here I am, on the verge of finishing all the chapters except the conclusion, just experiencing a writer's block. It is not a block when you do not have anything to write, it is rather one that you know exactly what you can write, but just refuse to finish it off. Just got the soundtrack of "Little Woman" as well a bunch of "This American Life" achieved programs, which makes my solitary life so too bad.
So here are what I did in the past several days. Spent new years eve in SF playing board games with a bunch of nerds, and I am a nerd too. Spent new year's day with advisor and other students to celebrate his decision to stay. Today I went to the airport picking up a friend who came back from S Korea. He helped me a lot in editing my papers, and I cannot thank him enough. So any time, Paul, to be your driver.
When I just started the blog, I will get a bunch of blogs about "Songhua River" if I search "songhua blog" on google. Now my blog comes the first. It is a blessing as well as a curse, a curse because now I have to be very cautious about blogging about my jobs. (unrban legends have it that you can get fired because of your blogs.) Therefore, although I have some big news about work, I have to hold it off here. I am sorry that I cannot be completely honest here, but at least I am honest to reveal that I am hiding something from you.
*******
Mmmmwwwhahaha, as planned, I finished chapter 5. And as a bonus, I have jumped ahead of the plan and drafted the outline of the concluding chapter. Maybe I should take a break tomorrow or something. Give myself a pat on the back, hehe.
So here are what I did in the past several days. Spent new years eve in SF playing board games with a bunch of nerds, and I am a nerd too. Spent new year's day with advisor and other students to celebrate his decision to stay. Today I went to the airport picking up a friend who came back from S Korea. He helped me a lot in editing my papers, and I cannot thank him enough. So any time, Paul, to be your driver.
When I just started the blog, I will get a bunch of blogs about "Songhua River" if I search "songhua blog" on google. Now my blog comes the first. It is a blessing as well as a curse, a curse because now I have to be very cautious about blogging about my jobs. (unrban legends have it that you can get fired because of your blogs.) Therefore, although I have some big news about work, I have to hold it off here. I am sorry that I cannot be completely honest here, but at least I am honest to reveal that I am hiding something from you.
*******
Mmmmwwwhahaha, as planned, I finished chapter 5. And as a bonus, I have jumped ahead of the plan and drafted the outline of the concluding chapter. Maybe I should take a break tomorrow or something. Give myself a pat on the back, hehe.
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