Fried Rice

I would have fried rice for dinner if I have rice...

Music

Growing up in China, there were many cases parents sent child to take musical lessons. Not sure how many of them does that because they think music is genuinely good for one's life. More likely reason is it is easier to get university admission for music majors.

But music really is a precious skill to have in life. With the ability to play an instrument, one can express his/her emotion in a way normal people couldn't. I often find myself getting certain feelings which is beyond my ability to describe in language. Actually some of them cannot be expressed in language at all. But sometimes, they can be expressed in the form of music. The best example of this would be in a good movie. When the story or the scene put one in certain mood, a piece of music is perfected composed and played at the same time and vibrates with audience's feeling inside.

Recently I listened a lot of music of The Corrs. I am very impressed by their instrument performance, especially the violin. Violin is just really a wonderful instrument. The sound it produces could be sad, could be relaxing, could be a lazy mood, could be a fast paced energy. My father has a violin and he plays once in a while. I would be so lucky if I had had a miserable childhood where he forced me to play it everyday. :(  

Busy...

One week for last assignment and then exam which is no more than a month away.

The majority implementation of the degree project has to be finished by end of June. Then need to catch up on writing if I also want to (try) publish something.

Guitar and brand new amp are right there at the corner seducing me. Spent a few time to learn. Man! It is hard!

The time I spent on something at work has seriously exceeded the estimation. More and more pressure on that and I am not quite sure if I can get it done soon enough.

Time to organize my trip back home. But that is just flight ticket.

Solution

There are normally two steps when trying to find a solution. First, one need to have a realistic understanding of the situation. Then, after accepting the problem, it would be possible to come up the solution. Might not be the best solution. But it could be the best in the direction one has to go.

I know this well and I applied this a lot. But there are problems you just cannot be rational about. I spent all my twenties back and forth trying to pass the first step of one particular problem. I decided my 30th birthday would be the deadline. Now I am 30 years old plus 7 months. I think I am doing like I planned. But believe, I still dream sometimes.  

Hero

Tony McClean tied himself to the last teenager, and they let go - 19 Apr 2008 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

What could be more precious than one's life? what could be more generous than giving one's life to help people? I think Tony McClean is absolutely a hero. I doubt if I could make the right decision in a situation like that.

Too bad the funeral place is too far away and his funeral would be a working date. I would really like to pay my respect. Wish him rest in peace in heaven!

The sound of silence

Hu Jia, a real hero, was jailed for three and half years today. What he essentially did was helping people and telling truth. In China, disagree with authority is one of the most dangerous things to do. Actually, IT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS THING TO DO. Fully aware of that, he still tried to get his voice heard. However, that makes him qualify for the crime "inciting subversion of state power".

Dr. Gao Yaojie, 81 years old, was under house arrested for doing the right thing too, even though she has been recognized as "Ten People Who Touched China in 2003". What a joke!

As a Chinese, I fully understand China has a very complicated situation and any tiny change would have very big impact. Therefore it is vital to carefully plan every step. However, how long does it have to take to simple do what everyone understands to be the right thing?

1.3 billion people population. Yet we still can hear the sound of silence...

Good luck, Hillary!

Tomorrow probably will be the most important day in Hillary Clinton's career. I read something from New Zealand Herald which says:

Most are voting for Obama because they want to keep Clinton out of the White House, he said.

"We've always had our quota, plus some, of Hillary haters. They think they can drive a stake through her presidential heart, and they are hammering away with gusto," Murray said.

That is exactly what I feels. I am not in US and I don't really know much about America. However, I always have this feeling that a lot of people just don't like to have another Clinton to get into the White House. Not that Bill Clinton has done a bad job. It is just that George W. Bush set a bad example. People are not so fancy about the idea that the members from the same family taking their turn to lead the country. Obviously, Obama is not winning because he has a better plan or he is more qualify. He is winning because young people think he is cool. He has a clean history and people would like to think he would be able to lead a fresh start. Hillary campaign has found concrete example of his inability. However, people refuse to accept the idea.

I really hope she could win the big states and therefore keep her campaign. Good luck!

Perfect

To find perfection, one must understand first nothing is really perfect. Always, something is missing; always, a small flaw would cast sadness over something that otherwise would be completely appreciated. But this is just life. To get something, one has to give something. It is not really fair to put something perfect in this world, isn't it?

The other guideline that helps to find perfection is about being real. Are we looking for something real or imaginary? We can picture something perfect. We can use imagination to add all the details to this image. But we don't have the power to turn it into reality. At the end of the day, something we can touch is the best achievement.

After establishing this understanding, a new interpretation for perfect emerges. So nothing is flawless. This is the rule of nature in this universe. So something perfect is not really perfect because it does not have the flaw that decorates any nature object. The important thing is about the part that matters. When a dark dot hides at the side, it is only there to remind you how perfect it is.

Homeless Woman

Homeless Woman
Originally uploaded by Bootless Prayers

She is so cool!

Cheap

$4575.00

I won't raise enough money for a trip to Europe by selling my body. :(