One Year in Munich

On Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women

2010-11-18T21:42:00.000+08:00

warning: this thing is just written to organize my thoughts. it might contain inaccurate information with un-academic vocabulary in vulgar language!

Mary Wollstonecraft wrote the Vindication of the Rights of Women. In it, she stressed on the importance of an equal education to women. Women in her time were already allowed to have more education; however, the content of their education was still inadequate of that for men. She further suggested that men should treat women with more respective rather than seeing them as naïve, childlike species that were less capable than men because society needs intelligent attentive mothers instead of ignorant housewives.

She attacked Milton and several others from the Restoration period onwards of their opinion of the role of women. Milton in his Paradise Lost expressed a feelings that knowing no more, women are actually more blessed. Nonetheless, this kind of stupid assumption of the blissfulness of women’s poor knowledge is exactly what Wollstonecraft despises. For mankind to improve, it is of vital importance to elevate women on to the same level with men. Otherwise, our species would only be dragged down by this mass of inadequate companions, who were turned into useless members because of men’s pompous arrogance.

She even compared women to soldiers: these two parties are both sent into a world before having acquire proper knowledge of it and do not have the chance to cultivate their own virtue and determination. They are just both machines that can do superficial things but cannot distinguish true value of the deeds.

And, she even hinted that the story of women being created for men was really just a “story,” meaning it’s not true!! Women were supposed to be equal to men.

This viewpoint is further supported in chapter 4, in which she talked about the contempt to women resulted from their widely recognized frivolity, vanity, irrationality, sensibility and love of pleasure was unjust. It is actually universal that both men and women pursue pleasure. They all have a love of pleasure. So if it’s said that women always have a love for pleasure and a love of pleasure is just a woman’s thing, then men who also have a love of pleasure is no longer man? They become women?

Anyway, the above are some opinions of Mary Wollstonecraft of the inequality of women in her society. However, I find her tone particularly annoying. If I were a women at that time, I could not and would not accept what she said completely. Throughout her Vindication, she attains a tone that is superior to the rest of the female. She thought herself being better than most of them and showed little sympathy for those oppressed. In my opinion, she could be less annoying if she would feel more to the suffering of her fellow sex.

Loneliness

2009-11-09T07:34:00.004+08:00

Being alone can be a very good thing.
But not when this overwhelming loneliness crashed me like an avalanche.

If I thought I had experience loneliness, then I was too naive.

This, here, after these months, should be the more exact sad feelings of being alone.

The lack of friends like you back in Taiwan,
it isn't easy.

The lack of hangouts w/ a bunch of lovely friends chatting without any language gap,
it is getting tough.

Still, most of the time, I am alone; but not lonely.

I think I should still be able to handle, when this Loneliness attacks as the allies with Nostalgia.

It is not about how many people I have around, nor how often I socialize.
So knowing more people or going out partying is more a painkiller than a cure.

It is related to the mood, it's the feelings, relating proabably to hormones also.

And there is a question, how can I get rid of this problem in the title?

Him

2009-05-15T16:18:00.002+08:00

I don't think I know him.

How can a person be so confusing?

I don't have to feel needed to be sure about a person's saying he likes me.

However, I don't feel that I am special/exclusive to him.

Perhaps,....feeling special or exclusive is only a girlfriend's privilege.

But hey! I'm a girlfriend to nobody!!!

Things appear complex, but in fact,

I know intrinsically, it would be just simple.

A simple fact that is too terrible and heartbreaking for me to accept,

or even to admit.

Life is not a tragedy.

But it is certainly not a comedy or a cheering soap opera

when the person you care so much would rather take his free time

doing all the other things you can imagine

than sitting down and write you.

Am I becoming a symbol of boredom to him already?

Feels no need to chat because there is scarcely anything to say?

Feels no impulse to be sweet in things beside words because there remains no passion?

Dear....Oh dear....

Flaws-hidden pushiness

2009-03-30T21:11:00.004+08:00

Some friends say I will definitely be a very lousy mother.
Perhaps they are right.
I am not very maternal. I don't love kids, or to be more precise, I don't like evil kids.

The most horrifying point is that, I don't appear to be very demanding while
in fact, I am so demanding.
I am exactly the pushy, bossy kind of girl.
Only that, I've learned over time, the lesson of the uselessness of pushing and bossing people around,
so now, I just pretend I don't mind and try very hard to act completely un-demanding.

People I first met don't discover this half-concealed characteristics.
However, I am not a good liar.
So my dark little secret leaks if they've known me long enough.
Everyone, then, knows that I have very high expectations toward almost everything.
They will know, but they don't necessarily always remember this fact.
And, as I said, I want to hide that, so I just won't remind them of it if they forget.
This might lead to terrible results:
My expectations have been failed, but nobody know.
Disappointment thus accumulated in me and one day, I let go of the disappointing person.
Turn around and never look back.

I just feel that if people want to do thing well and right, they will do it.
On the other hand,
if they don't have the heart to do it, then no matter
how much I push, they would just stay there like the stones on Easter Island.
So what's the point of me being demanding if the results still count on the person's own will?
It's just like the saying goes, "When there's a will, there's a way." else, no way.

And what have all that got to do with me being a lousy mother?
I feel that my kids, if one day i do have some, will often feel uncertain about how high my expectations are.
This is very troublesome. I know it because my mom does that to me too.
Alright, I'll draw my expectations on the wall, i guess....
"for academic performances, honey, you need to be...umm...let's say, 100cm. see that's right here. not very high~"

Alright...so, the thesis here is,
Hey guys, I am pushy. Don't forget ;)

How far is too far?

2009-03-13T15:30:00.004+08:00

How far is too far?
How considerate should I be?

We tend to forgive the ones we love.
Because we love them, so if they make a few mistakes, we tell them it's alright and everything 's gonna be fine.
But how's it gonna be fine when the same mistakes are repeated?
How could it be fine if our expectations for them all gradually turn into bubbles and then gone?
No one is perfect and since we love them, we give them more space to err.
This idea has now occured to me, very wrong.

"Late for the date? Oh, I am upset but I forgive him because I love him so much."
"Late for the date again? Umm...well...this is really not very nice, but I love him so much that I cannot NOT forgive him."
"Still late for another date? Oh well, I believe that he has good reasons."

Are we supposed to keep forgiving just because we love them?
There must be a bottom line for this never-ending forgiving cycle.
If no measures are adopted, soon they will start abuse our love.
They'll trash it.
They won't care about it.
They'll take it for granted.
They get too used to being forgiven.

In short,
love spoils them.

My Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Result

2009-02-03T20:34:00.003+08:00

I took a simplified MBTI test on a simplified Chinese website yesterday.
My result is ESTJ.
They got some short information in simplified Chinese explaining what an ESTJ person is like
and I took some time to translate the info into English.
Overall, I think the result is exact.
Perhaps some people will know me better via reading through the result?
In short, the ESTJ people are responsible, reliable, high-efficient, logical, decisive, and practical.

EXTJ people are practical, realistic and they emphasize on facts. They are resolute, and thus can make feasible decision within a short time. They are also good at organizing items and people to accomplish a task and at taking the most efficient means to achieve a goal. These people tend to notice the details of a routine. They have a set of standard logic and follow it systematically while expecting others to follow it likewise. Oftentimes, they use tougher ways to execute a plan.
The ESTJ type work at high efficiency, are self-responsible, supervise works of others, distribute and use resources reasonably, know well the priorities and are always in order. They set and follow the rules and prefer to work in firms that have an integral system, clear hierarchy and steadier environment. These people tend to choose more practical business that focus on solid products. They like the kind of occupations that involve communication with people but these people do not win by their attitude. They do not put much emphasis on their interest or the trade when choosing jobs; usually, they see each job in the professional way. They excel in accomplishing missions. They like to take control of the situation and make things happen. They are responsible and keep their promises. Also, they like to reason and can remember or organize the details. They timely and as possibly achieve their goals efficiently and systematically. When the ESTJ type people are forced to make decision, they use their past experience as the basis. They are objective, methodic, analytic and strong in reasoning. In fact, nothing other than being logical can persuade them. Meanwhile, the ESTJ type is down to earth, intelligent and practical. They are more interested in “real objects” than thoughts, theories or other abstract things. They are usually not interested in things that have no practical value. They know what is going to happen around them and they care about the moment most. Because the ESTJ people live by a set of rules orderly, they are persevering and reliable. Often times, they are traditional and prefer to keep the existing system. Even though to them, love and social life is not as significant as the other parts of their lives, they are immovable on family relationships. They not only can ascertain a person easily, but also are the reasonable administer of disciplines. The ESTJ is straight-forward and candid, friendly and sociable. Normally, the understand things at ease because they believe “what you see is what you perceive.”

my dark little secret

2009-01-29T00:07:00.004+08:00

He would never know how much I thank him for being there for me in high school.
Even if he is here reading this, he probably wouldn't know
because he doesn't really understand this language.

They would never know how much I hate them for being indifferent when they should have butt in.
Even if any one of them is reading this, they would never be sure whether themselves
are the ones I refer to here
because they have always been indifferent and ignorant and they shall keep being like that.

Perhaps he is not the nicest person I've ever met.
However, he sprung out his arms when I needed and that was friendly enough to me.

They are definitely not the worst of the worst.
But they are robotic.
They have this so called "affection blindness" and they don't know the meaning of "help."

Honestly, if they were to be drawn in any water, I'd sneer at them and stand there seeing them drawned
for I treat people the way as they treat me.

So, this is my dark little secret.

Good or Evil

2009-01-27T15:01:00.004+08:00

There are two hypothesis regarding human nature.
One states that people are inherently evil while the other believes that people are good by nature.
The first, say, "evil" hypothesis means that when we are born, we are guided by the evil.
To eliminate the evil, we shall adopt education.
Adequate education will lead everyone on the right path and the evil in our heart will be lessened and lessened.
The other, which is, the "good" hypothesis considers
everyone is born with a kind heart.
The only reason why somebody in our society is not "good" is because some factors have led the person to conduct evil deeds.

In my opinion, we can simply say that
the first hypothesis gives us some hint about whitening a black paper, using education;
the second hypthesis explains how a white paper becomes dotted with black.

Personally, I usually goes for the hypothesis that people are inherently evil.
In other words, one cannot be too cautious.
So, watch out for the strangers!
watch out for this. watch out for that.
Maybe some will feel that I am such a pessimist, thinking ill of everybody.
However, to the people I love, I normally consider them are born good.
As a result, there is seldom anything wrong that cannot be forgiven as long as it is those people that did it.
Still, I now think that this is the reason why I get hurt at times:
believing that one did something out of good will
or not did something because of negligence; and in the end, finding out that that is not the case.
The truth is that
the first hypothesis is right, concerning the perosn.

Too bad that sometimes I have to be heartbroken to learn what I've already known.

Failure

2008-12-22T12:53:00.003+08:00

I guess my biggest failure in my whole life would be flunking a badminton class.
I am not sure if I will fail that class, but the possibility is huge.
Still,
c'mon! It's just a stupid PE class, how can I ever flunk a stupid PE class?
stupid stupid stupid class!
The most stupid class, I am going to fail?
Sorry, I am in shock.

This must be the most ridiculous failure ever if it comes true.

Me, flunking that brainless class.

I am trying so hard to avoid this failure.
If I must fail, at least I should fail something bigger, more important, trickier!
not this useless trashy class.

This morning, I practiced a few times at home.
And then, all of sudden, it occurred to me that the skill I couldn't get was exactly the same as that of playing the violin.
Does that mean that I am failing for the same reason a second time?
So,...I am tripped by the same stone twice?
But, is it such a big deal not being able to act in the standard posture?

Oh, about that teacher, i am going to write something about her after the semester ends.
She's just the most wonderful, nicest and unpredictable teacher I've ever met.
I luv her so much.

"You run, I run"

2008-12-19T09:43:00.002+08:00

No this is not the "you jump, I jump" that Rose said to Jack on Titanic.

Yes, I know it's been a longtime since my last update.

So now I am going to get you updated about my recent...umm...thoughts(?)

It was dark that night; the street lamps on the lane all went off.
There was no clear sight of anybody.
However, I sensed something, or someone.
I started walking fast.
And then I went faster and faster that I was in the end, running.
There was somebody coming after me.
I couldn't get rid of him.
Yes, I suppose it's a "him"
because no girl would ever wear an ugly balck hat and an unfit black coat like he did.

It shouldn't take even a minute to walk from the place I'd started to my house.
But this time, I never seemed to get to the house after minutes of running.
How come there was no end in sight?
I felt tired and finally gave up escaping.
The man got me and pressed me on the neck into a wall .
"Why you chase me?" I struggled and yelled.
He came closer and said in a husky voice, "That's because you run."
"What are you talking about?" I tried to turn my head so that I could shout right into his face.
"You run, I run. Next time, don't run." He muttered.

And then we disappeared.

Tips for preparing Linguistics exams

2008-11-17T22:39:00.000+08:00

Tips for preparing Linguistics Exam
For those who may concern:
The following is my way of preparing for the midterm and final exam of An Introduction to Linguistics, taught by professor Yin at NCCU.

Pre-class preparations:
If you do not want to be overwhelmed by the massive readings a few days before the exam, it is very practical for you to start the readings much more earlier, that is to say, PREVIEW the chapters before the professor starts talking about it.
You might argue that previewing is totally a waste of time since all the words and phrases just seem so confusing before professor Yin decodes them. However, you are not asked to fully understand the text after the preview. In fact, if you understand everything right after you read the book yourself, what is the use of Professor Yin?
To do the preview, just scan through the pages. The meaning of previewing is to give yourself the a thorough view of the chapter: what the chapter is about, which part you might have problem with. By this way, you know what you should pay attention to during the lecture and is able to jot down some notes in the part you do not quite understand and clarify the ideas.
The suitable time for me for previewing of a chapter is approximately half an hour since I do not want to spend my time in front of the desk too much.

In-class work:
What do you think is most important in understanding a lecture?
I would say it is concentration. Concentration makes me learn more efficiently. If the professor spends so much time talking about an idea, I know it is important so I pay more attention on it. If the professor gives extra examples, I write it down. These things are hardly achieved without concentration in class.
So, concentrate, people!
Just remember that if you spend 5 minutes talking in class, you might have to spend 50 minutes to understand the parts you missed after class. Is that worthwhile? Think about it yourself.
Also, I sometimes use very thick pen to mark out some crucial ideas, or even rewrite them on the margins. That really helps when I review the book before exam. Those things in thick marker will pop out and stick to your mind for a long time.

After-class work:
I myself do not always do the review. I mean, I think the full-concentration in class is enough. (>///<) (I admit, not reviewing is not a very good example.)
However, I will discuss the exercises in the textbooks which Professor gives as homework, with some friends and try to come up with our own solutions before Professor Yin talks about it.

Pre-exam preparations:
Usually, Professor Yin gives you a study sheet. Keep it safe and use it well! Professor never gives out things that are of no use. (hint: the study sheet is given so you can check on your studies.)
As to the way of using the sheet, first of all, scan through the items on it and see if there are any concepts or any jargons that you do not know. Oftentimes, you do have some. Do not make a fuss since you still have times to fix the problems. Instead, read through the parts in the textbook again. If you cannot figure out the problems yourself, go ask your classmates or the professor for help. Do not feel ashamed, you are students, and students have problems. A lot of them.
Now that you almost understand everything on the sheet, starts filling out the blank parts of it with your own little reminders so you can quickly review everything within five minutes before the exam. If you have the margins are not enough, Post-it is strongly recommended.

That is all for the study sheet.
Hope you all do well in the upcoming midterms.

Margo

2008-11-06T23:29:00.002+08:00

Perhaps I've found someone that is much more rational than I am?
Perhaps that someone is you, Margo!

Your theory stunned me, though I cannot remember what it is exactly about now.
However, I still recall the feelings I had when I heard it.

I don't want to be controlled.
I don't like to be controlled.
However, the current situation shows clearly that I am controlled,
emotionally.
Do you understand? You've got to help me escape!
I've tried tried and tried but I think I need some external help.
I do want to be out of this chain.

Maybe you should knock me out as I suggested today on our way to the library?
That will be simpler than lecturing me.

I am so glad that I found another rational person.
I had regarded myself as romantic before I had the literature class in our freshman year.
There was once the professor told me
that I was too rational to experience the thing that was implied in The Yellow Wallpaper,
that my question was too rational and thus cannot be answered.
Then, I realized the fact, "No. I am totally not romantic."
Meanwhile, I was not totally rational either.
"So what am I anyway?" I wondered.

Now I know, I shift.
no, I am not saying shifting as having the ability to transform.
When it comes to my own love affairs, I lose my sense and sanity.
And that doesn't please me at all.
NOT AT ALL.

So, help me through, would you?

Stephanie

2008-11-03T21:09:00.002+08:00

I sat in the classroom talking to some classmates that day.

A person whose face I could not see clearly walked toward me and said (s)he had something to tell me.

The feeling the person gave me was so serious that I knew I must stop chatting with the others for awhile to listen to what (s)he was going to tell.

(S)He sat down beside me and talked of Stephanie, who was then sitting in the back of the classroom also chatting with some people.

It turned out that what the person intended to tell was that Stephanie didn't actually like me.
In fact, she hated me.

I was too stunned to believe what the person said since Stephanie and I shared our emotions, dark(est) secrets and so on.

What's more, I always felt really comfortable talking to her.

She was simply one of the great friends I met in the university!

How come that secretly-hating-me thing be true?
I wondered, and couldn't help asking for details.

According to the person, Stephanie hated me because I criticised her scarf one day.

I told her her scarf was mixed with too many colours that just didn't fit at all.

Well, judging from my Libra nature, I could have think about something like that "secretly to myself."

However, no way would I ever EVER be so stupid to really say it unless I was asked for advice.

Still, the words could have slipped, couldn't they?

Oh...that, I really didn't know.

In the rest of the time, I was so bothered with the factoid. (I hoped it was.)

So, Stephanie my dear friend, what do you think?

Long time no see

2008-10-27T07:57:00.000+08:00

It seems like I've not posted anything here for a long time.
Yeah...I could almost see those moss covering the entire page.

So why would I finally want to post a new entry?
Well, that's because I just wrote something on my blog in Chinese
and now, I don't feel like stopping since I love the noises a keyboard can make.

While my berries (raspberries, blueberries and marionberries) lie safely in a bowl
on the kitchen table, having their process to unfrozen so I can eat them all,
I think I'll stay here for a while.
Unfrozening a big bowl of berries really takes time.

OK, a few days ago, it was my birthday.
I had a rather peaceful one.
Nothing bad happened. And I shopped a bit.
(But sadly, something real good which I expected to happen has never occured.)
The celebration was held one day in advance by Amy and some great friends.
I had a wonderful time.
In fact, I think I was a bit too high when recording everybody's blessing.
I shouted too much, really.
The next day, yes, my birthday, my throat hurt so much.

Anyway, I have a video clip now but I have no idea about editting it.
It's a Quicktime file.
I tried to use Macintosh to edit but... I can't use Macintosh!
Besides, there doesn't seem to be a way that I can edit a Quicktime file w/o transforming it(?)

Alright now, let me go and check those cute little yummy berries.

He's not yours

2008-09-25T22:02:00.000+08:00

Haha! Since "Relationships" is the topic of my W&R class for a whole academic year,
I now have very good reason to write something about it without being told it's a waste of time.

The other day, you told me about something between you and that guy.
I know I was being cruel telling the truth but as a friend, that was what I should do.
(And you know that being cruel but realistic was exactly all my other friends did to me whenever I was like you.)

He's not yet yours; which means, some day he could be,
but judging from the information you gave me,
for now, he only likes you.

Before my rough analysis, let's review the information you gave me first:

1.It was you that took the initiative adding him to you friendlist on msn.
2.It was you that start the conversation EVERY time.
3.It was you that do the most talking and he replies randomly with short sentences.
4.It was always you that see him go offline and his one and only excuse is that he is going to get some late night snacks.
5.You hear people saying that he likes you and sometimes, they even try to pair you up.

And here is my shallow analysis:

Have you noticed that it is almost always you that are doing all the things?
From adding him to talking to him.
The problem is either you have made him become incredibly receptive, or as some people will say, "He's just not that into you."
You might want to argue that there is nothing wrong for gals to start these things instead of waiting for guys to do it.
No, of course, there is nothing wrong as long as you enjoy it.
However, here we are discussing whether the guy likes you.
And to be honest, if he were interested in you, he would have started the conversation.
You might say that he could be just too shy to start anything himself.
Well then, I can't say your assumption is wrong but I don't see the reason for you to have a guy who is always hiding in his shell.
Just imagine the days when you two, hopefully, get together:
he will be too shy to hold your hands so you must hold his,
he will be too shy to kiss you so you must kiss him...etc.
Do you really want such a relationship?
Still, get back to our point, that is,
you two are only friends,
or even worse, some nodding acquaintaces.

Also, personally,
it's so lame that he excuses himself by saying that he's going to get some late night snacks.
If I were him, and we assume that he likes you, why would I need any extra food at a late night when I am already filled with joy talking to a gal I like?
Maybe you are fine with this excuse but I just totally disagree.
A late night snack is not a necessity and, apparently,
to him, those snacks are more "attractive" than you.
Sad but true.

As to point 5, from the painful experience I had before,

you don't take other people's telling you he likes you into any credit.

Basically, you should never believe a word,

unless he tells you, while sober, how he is feeling for you

and you can see his eyes glowing with sincerity.

Besides, "like" is not enough to make him yours.

There is really a lot of people he can like and when he says he likes you,

he might simply means he like you as a friend

or, he could be saying that only because he doesn't want to be rude to you

or, he is just a big flirt who likes everybody.

You never know.

To conclude, he doens't like you the way you wish him to.

If you can just let it be, you shall feel better.

Sorry I am being so straight forward, but I don't want to see you expecting too much from such a guy.

How far did I go yesterday

2008-09-24T11:39:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was somehow terrible.

Actually, I know why it was terrible but I am not suppose to consider it terrible for some reasons:

I am a student.

I am a sophomore student in one of the top universities in Taiwan

I am a double-majored sophomore student in one of the top universities in Taiwan

I am, in one of the top universities in Taiwan, a double-majored sophomore student, who plan to get in an exchange program next year to Europe.

And thus, I just had a terrible experience on studying really hard yesterday.

It shall soon be terrible no more when I get used to this kind of life.

Spending my evening in the school library, studying the lovely lovely Economics and Syntax, I felt so sleepy and bored though I could see that the authour of our Economics textbook was trying his best to make the whole thing looked interesting and appealing.

The first few chapters of Economics seemed so basic that I didn't know where to focus on.

As to Syntax, I am interested in linguistics but Syntax has always been my weak point there. So, it was awful. I read through the words but couldn't remember much.

At night, because the rush hour was over then, it only took me about 40 minutes to get to my house, including 15 minutes of walking.

Yesterday, I was soaked in knowledges and I suppose, without doubts, it's the model of most of my days in the future.

C'est la vie. C'est ma vie, alors.

Let me sleep

2008-09-22T01:10:00.000+08:00

Oh well, I so much want to sleep now!

However, because of a techincal problem of my cell phone,
I can't do what I want to do most at the moment
.
Alright, the technical problem is that
the clerk in the store told me NOT to leave the cell phone plugged in after the
recharging was done.
She said it was bad for the battery.
As a result, since the recharging is still not yet done,
i have to wait til
it has sucked in all the energy it needs so that I can get it unplugged.

It's so hard sitting here, staying awake waiting.
I've browsed all the websites in my favourites.
I've answered all the wall posts on my facebook.
I've checked all the e-mails I received.
I've even help a friend with her Mythology homework in English.
Nope, I ain't not talking to anyone on msn now,
because I don't think I have a clear mind to know what I am saying right now.
And that's why I am here blogging.
A quarter past one in the very early morning of 9/22.
I am here, blurping how much I want to sleep but can't.

Oh no, I think I am repeating myself now.
Just to remind, this entry is sort of a trash
so just don't read it if you don't like my writing.
Still, I wonder if it's already too late to remind you by now.
XD

I am craving for a nice sleep on the soft bed with my worn-out quilt
instead of sitting in front of a left-wrist heating laptop, hitting the keyboard.
So, pardon me for this nonsense.
Be thoughtful please.

Vodka shots

2008-09-19T23:29:00.000+08:00

Well, as you know it, among alcohol,
I like cocktails best
esp the sweet ones, such as Sex On the Beach.

I have never ever tried shots until tonight
since I usually don't get any fun in gulping a small cup of liquid/alcohol.
So, when I got my small shot of the ABSOLUT VODKA on a friend's birthday dinner today,
I took a sip.
I like sipping, just putting the cup on the lips so that I can take in the liquid anytime I want to.
However, right after that sip,
I have fully understood that you could never sip a vodka
because that will cause you a lot of trouble,
such as a burning throat, red eyes with tears almost streaking down the face or a few chokes.
"What the hell is this?", I wondered for a few seconds, helding the shot.
Then, the guy sitting in front of me took his shot, kindly explained the essence on how to have a vodka shot and finally, gave a demonstration.
According to him,
you exhale, and then take the shot fast, all in one gulp.

It looked so intimidating at first.
How could I possible drink that thing so fast when I was already frightened by only one sip of it?
Nonetheless, I did give it a try after a few minutes of hesitation.
I got nothing to lose and one shot was definitely not going to make me drunk.
And then it all turned out that it WAS the way vodka should be drunk.
Get the alcohol right into your stomach, and you will feel warm all over.
That was pretty interesting.
And when there was one, there would be a two and then a three.
So, surrounded by russians and their langauges, I had three vodka shots tonight, quite an exotic experience.

All in all,
one sip of vodka, you get a warm or buring face; while,
one shot of vodka, you get a thorough warmth.

Maybe I should try Chinese rice alcohol shots during Chinese New Year.

NCCU Course Selection System

2008-09-13T12:08:00.000+08:00

sucks!
lousy!
not even in the least bit ideal!

The authority explains that
it's a shopping cart concept that you see the products you want and throw them into the cart
and, of course, go check out.

Well, then, what kind of shopping cart role is this hell cousre selection system playing?
I put my favourite or fine-with-me products into the cart and when I went check out,
almost everythings in the cart were taken away by some unknown strangers.
And then the products in those strangers' carts were taken away by other strangers!
So, in the end, it's lucky for me to still had one or two products with me.

What's wrong with this darn system?
What's wrong with the people who designed this trash?
How WONDERFUL the shopping cart concept is!

Now after two times of course-selecting, new products are put on the shelves
and we can't get them because we are all outside of the supermarket at this time.
Or, the supermarket is closed. Nobody can get in.

I only took 20 credits so far.
There remains 165 credits for me to finish in 6 semesters.
I just don't know how on earth can I make it,
wondering how many years do I have to spend in the university.
5?6?
Oh! Have they mistaken me as a medical school student?

Bus drivers in Taipei

2008-09-05T21:04:00.000+08:00

As a person who has over 10 year experience on taking buses in Taipei,
I would like to share some opinions towards the bus drivers here.

Basically, I sort all of them into three categories:
Nice and Friendly,
Mean and Rude,
Dreadful.

As to the first category, I think there's no need to spend much time on it.
Nice and friendly bus drivers are, generally, nice and friendly.
OK.
Seriously, they are considerate, polite.
They answer questions that you ask.
They remind passengers to watch out for the coming vehicles when they are getting off the buses.
They drive steadily without braking or speeding up suddenly.

The opposite of the kind drivers are the mean and rude drivers.
Those drivers tend to brake whenever they feel like it.
And, every once in a while, when they are bored, they shout at some passengers.
Worst of all, one of their hobbies is to start going when the elderly are still in the process of getting off or on the buses: they feel entertained seeing the elderly fall.

Finally, it comes to the most dreadful drivers.
In fact, instead of calling them drivers,
I'd rather regard them as lunatics that happen to be driving buses.
They mutters stuffs in a volumne that you aren't sure whether they are talking to you or themselves.
When they are not muttering, they roar.
Their mouths never stop moving while they have their hands on the wheel.
Their feet, on the accelerators and the brakes, keep stepping hard with the tempo of some melody in their mind.
As a result, passengers can never possibly know when will the buses move or stop.
If you are one of the passengers, the only thing you can do before getting to your stop is,
hoping not to die in the lunatic's hands...and feet.
Oh! And before you get off (I mean if you are so lucky to do so)
be sure to remember the lunatic's face so that you can report him to a madhouse
or, at least, not to get yourself into such plight,
that is,
flee when you see the lunatic on the bus you are about to get on
next time you are waiting for the bus.

Still, don't worry too much about taking buses in Taipei.
Our bus drivers fall mostly into the first and second category. ;)

Waiting

2008-09-03T21:05:00.001+08:00

Perhaps I have changed my mind?

_______________________________________________

It takes so long for the right one to come.

I stand there waiting, ignoring all the other possible choices.

Because I only want one.

THE one is all I need.

No matter how long it'll take, I wait.

Or at least, that was what I always did.

But now,

I am not sure if it's the right thing to do.

___________________________________
Perhaps,

it is the time to change my mind?

Quarrel

2008-09-01T22:39:00.000+08:00

They always cuddle up to each other until it's time to wake up.
However, he got up of the bed in the early morning that day, with unknown anger.
Alt least, it was unknown to her.

She was woken up by the sudden lose of weight on the bed,
not knowing what happened with him.
Lying on the bed with a part of the silky quilt in her arms,
she looked at his walking to and fro in the room.
He knew that he had woken her up, but he didn't seem to care.
Instead, he muttered some words and pounded the chest of the drawers in the room.

Seeing him being a bit violent, she was worried.
"What's wrong dear?", she asked him softly, still holding the quilt in front of her chest.
"Nothing.", he replied in a low restrained voice.
Of course there was something bothering him, she could see it clearly.
She asked again.
This time, with a more relax or indifferent voice and
with a more interesting phrase,
so that she wouldn't sound annoying or nagging.

Upon her finishing the question, he exploded.
"Why do you choose to be sarcastic even in this situation?"
Her heart was jolting by his unexpected yelling at her,
making her blank in the brain at the moment.
He continued his speech, mainly about how her sarcasm had become intolerable
and how that intolerable sarcastic way of talking had made her ugly.
Out of the maze, sitting up on the bed, she listened and grabbed the quilt harder.

After a quarter, there was still no sign he would stop shouting at her.
This was frightening her but she still managed to interrupt him.
"But, you say you like it.", she felt like sobbing now.
She understood that it would only make the situation worse crying during a quarrel,
but she didn't know how much longer she could control herself.
"Well, I likeD. And now, I don't anymore!", he stared at her.
Slamming the door hard, he parted.

She heard him kicking the funiture in the living room, and
finally the open and the shut of the front door.
Hiding herself under the quilt, she didn't want to hear him start the car engine.
She was afraid she wouldn't be able to take that.

What happened with him, she didn't know.
In fact, she had no idea about what was going on just now.
She simply wished all that had been just a nightmare.

The night of August 29

2008-08-30T00:01:00.000+08:00

Getting out of the tiring space,
Niki and I walked straight to a KFC, hunting for some fast food.
She looked like starving though I had tried to hypnotize her that she wasn't really hungry.
Why was I trying to hypnotixing?
In fact, the shoes I wore today had been hurting my toes
and thus making me unwilling to walk to the KFC.
Still, I went with her, since we hadn't seen each other for almost two months.

I had only an egg tart while she ordered a full fried chicken burger set, with fries and coke.
We found the seats on the second flooor beside a big windows
so I could watch all the passers-by down on the path.

We started our small talks once seated.
Today, the conversation revolved around relationships and love.
Or, more precisely, it revolved mostly around her relationships
for she was popular among guys.
I really enjoy hearing friends' (exciting) love lives.
We sat there talking, eating, sometimes whispering, for an hour until
the time she must left to catch her train.

On my way home on the bus, I reflected our interesting conversation.
Thinking hard is one of the fun I get after talking.
No matter how superficial or boring the conversation was,
as long as you think about it after, you gain something.
Well, the "hello-What'sup?" and "Fine-see you!" conversation excluded.

Can you befriend your ex?
In my opinions, there are two answers.
If you both consented to break up, there might be a chance that you are still friends.
However, it can be that you hate each other so much that you want to stop the whole thing.
Then, I wonder how can you be friends again since friends are,
basically,
not hating each other.
If one is extremely unwilling to end the relationship, what will it be like to befriend the person?
When one person see it as friendship while the other still want the relationship back,
they get too different perceptions on the same thing.
For example:
Your ex asks you to a movie and you accept because you think you are friends.
But he sees the whole thing as a sign that you still feel for him.
And this is not how friendship works, I suppose.
So...
in conclusion,
get it straight if you don't want your ex to become a nuisance like one of Niki's.

messy thoughts

2008-08-28T22:53:00.000+08:00

I am currently having some messy thoughts.
How to deal with it, I am not sure.

All I know is,
"What's done is done."
"Tomorrow will be another day."
and...
"Alle Anfang ist schwer."
"Ende gut, alles gut."

And here is how I get from the sayings:

It does me no good regretting for the things that passed.
As a result, I must look forward, trying to grab my next opportunity.
Once I get the opportunity, I have to start it right.
Then, when the end is good, everything looks good, looking back.

Alright, my thoughts is still messy,
but I feel a lot better writing how I can deal with the problem down.
Guess this is what blogs are for,
to get my thoughts a bit organized, to make me feel less annoyed.

If all the above has confused you, dear visiters, or friends, or haters or...anyone,
sorry, I didn't mean it.

Last Friday

2008-08-26T13:47:00.000+08:00

I was too shocked and tired to write about this lasr Friday.
If I can't get it, nobody can!
Wait, wait, don't get me wrong, I am not such an extreme person,
destroying anything (s)he can't get.
For "it", I mean, my note book for German.

There was a final on German last Friday.
I was too happy finishing the exam that
I left my note book in the classroom and
didn't even find it out until I was already home,
preparing to go to the welcome party for freshmen held by our department.

I was so desperate that I called almost every classmate
to ask if they saw my notebook.
Finally, it was confirmed that my note book lied safe in the classroom.
However, I couldn't get it right away because I was on my way to the welcome party
and the building would have been closed when the party was over.
What's worse, I couldn't get it on weekend because the building remained closed.

Fortunately,
I got into the building on Monday, which is, yesterday
and found my dearly note book,
lying on the table,
intact, shining and smiling.
(Not that it did smile to me.For anyone's sake, it's ghost month now!)

I worried so much this weekend, thinking about if I couldn't get it back.
All my notes for basic German are inside.
All the stupid talking-to-myself phrases are inside.
All the weird drawings during the class are inside.

Except the notes for basic German,
if that note book had been taken by someone else,
it would be like opening my whole mind to the person if (s)he saw the phrases and drawings.
It was so awful just to imagine.

But, anyway, I am thankful that I got it back.

That day in Whistler

2008-08-24T22:58:00.000+08:00

It was a cold winter day in Canada when I was seventeen.
I was on my way,
with other teenagers from Taiwan,
heading to Whistler from downtown Vancouver.
After maybe an hour or so on the bus,
the scenery outside turned all in white.
We started applying hand cream,
putting on our gloves and feather coats.
In the wake of the preparations,
we got to Blackcomb ski resort.
I came out of the bus with excitement and anxiety.
Skiing sounded exciting;
however, the low temperature was a setback.
Under my feet, the earth was covered up by thick snow.
Then I stretched out my hands, snow flakes landing on them.
Since I’d never seen nor touch the snow all my life,
it all felt so exotic.
After grouping up,
seven of my friends and I went into a wooden house.
There, we rented the equipment we needed.
In fact, we also “rented” Fred,
a handsome 19-year-old Quebec coach.
When we were all set, Fred led us to a flat ground and taught us how to walk with the skis,
to use the poles and some other basic skiing know-how.
Fred wasn’t a very patient coach
because he only let us practice in the flat ground area for about one hour
before taking us to a slope.
Even though the slope wasn’t a very steep one,
all eight of us Taiwanese girls just stood there and stared,
not having the guts to go down.
Fred kept telling us it would be fun and,
finally, he got us persuaded,
so down we went!
Once I was going down,
the skis seemed like speeding up themselves every time I tried to make a stop.
The only way I could let them stop was tumbling myself into piles of snow.
Later, I would struggle to get up or Fred would come to help me.
I skied the slope three times and the actions repeated.
Skied.
Tumbled.
Then Got up.
Nonetheless, skiing is an exciting and interesting sport.
I’d really like to ski again though I was aching all over that day when I got home.

Spending Chinese New Year with my Family

2008-08-24T22:56:00.000+08:00

Among all the holidays,
I love spending Chinese New Year with my family the
most.
First of all, our house is well-decorated fresh lilies and narcissus.
The oriental-designed sofa looks uncomfortable with puffy pillows on it.
The floor is shining, mopped and waxed.
In this cozy ambiance, the faces of the family members are glowing.
We are cheerful also because one of the old Chinese customs is
that a person should keep oneself in a good mood on Chinese New Year
in order to have a smooth year.
My parents never get angry no matter what my brother and I did;
on the contrary, they’ll just let it go with a (fake) smile on their faces.
My grandparents who are already gracious in the ordinary days are even kinder.
My brother and I don’t fight or quarrel during the time.
Instead, we watch TV programs we both like,
share candies and play computer games happily and peacefully
while my mother and grandmother are busy preparing a big meal in the kitchen.
At about noon,
there will be a delicacies and a tempting smell of
red beans rice cakes coming out from the kitchen.
We can see the delicate dishes placed one by one on the dining table
soon after we smell them.
Then,
a bunch of relatives will “happened to” knock on the door and join the big meal.
The people are then everywhere in the house, living room, balcony, bedrooms…etc.,
because the dining table is unfortunately not big enough
for (at least) fifteen people to sit around and have lunch.
Later on, the children put on warm coats, going outside to play;
the elders tend to stay inside ,talking about everything.
All in all,
I really enjoy Chinese New Year with my family in this kind of lively ambiance.

What we can do to the earthquakes in Taiwan

2008-08-24T22:54:00.000+08:00

There are different kinds of natural disasters happening more and more frequently throughout the world. Natural disasters usually refer to earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, droughts, floods and other sudden changes of nature that makes impact on human society. In fact, those phenomena are “disasters” only t us human beings. If we see them from the view of the Earth, they are merely tiny parts of its transition. Nonetheless, those disasters are fatal because most of them happen so suddenly that people are too shocked to make reactions; what’s more, the aftermaths of the disasters are usually series of troubles ranging from sanitary problems to economic recession. Growing up here in Taiwan, among all kinds of natural disaster, I have experienced most often—earthquakes. Earthquakes are common on the island and since we can not avoid them, we should at least know how to minimize the casualty and damage.
Earthquakes happen frequently in Taiwan not because, according to legends, there is a bull underground tossing and turning but because Taiwan is on the boundary of two plates, Filipino oceanic plate and Eurasian tectonic plate. Why do earthquakes appear so often on the boundary of the two plates? The reason is simple—sometimes the two plates jostle, usually the oceanic plate sinking under the tectonic plate, each other and thus produce a great amount of earthquakes some of which are sensible to human beings while some are not. The harder the two plates jostle hard, the higher the magnitude of the earthquakes will be.
Even though we can not avoid earthquakes, we can try our best to make an earthquake less harmful to our society. In my opinion, earthquakes are not so scary as the sequential damage that caused by it. For example, in Taiwan, earthquakes evoke landslides most often. A lot of people did not die of the ground shaking; instead, they were killed by the falling rocks and clods that were shook off their own places. There are also people who were buried alive in their own houses because the houses were not built firm enough to withstand the severe shaking. If we start executing rigidly the conservation of water and soil and stop exploiting the trees in the mountains, landslides are less likely to happen after an earthquake. Meanwhile, if the authorities allow the construction of any buildings only under stricter conditions and supervise the construction thoroughly, the companies are less likely to scamp work and stint material.
In addition to what we can do before an earthquake, we have been constantly taught what to do during an earthquakes; still, there is one concept that needs to be corrected. When asked about where is the best place to be in an earthquake, people will answer—“open places with no objects threatening my life.” However, it is hard to find such ideal places in a highly populated city like Taipei. As a result, somebody discovered another option. Think about a time when you did a drill at school. What did you and your classmates do? You either ran to the middle of the playground or stuck under a desk and started chatting with the classmates. However, hiding under a table or a bed has recently been proven a wrong thing to do in an earthquake because the things you are hiding under are not strong enough to bear enormous pressure and could collapse easily, squeezing you as if making lemonade. It is hard for you to get out once you are scrunched. In fact, a better choice is to stay in the middle of two pieces of furniture so that if, say, the ceiling collapses, there is great chance that it will fall upon the furniture and you are left with space to get yourself out.
Despite the intimidating severe earthquakes, to our relief, minor tremors occur more often than major earthquakes. Still, we can not prevent either ones from occurring just as we can not fight against great nature. However, human beings are always considered the most intelligent among all the species. Instead of using our super brains to destroy the environment we live in and suffer from the consequences, we should use our time to do things that will lessen the devastation. There is one thing that everybody should keep in mind: Natural disasters are not disastrous to nature but to mankind. As long as we realize the concept clearly, we will also understand that all the things we are asked to do by the environmentalists are not for the environment but for ourselves’ and our offspring’s well-being. Earthquakes can be frightening to some people but the shake of the ground do not necessarily have to be destructive. The degree of the aftermath and the casualty of an earthquake depend, in fact, on us.

How to buy chic but cheap outfits in Wu Fang Pu

2008-08-24T22:52:00.000+08:00

For chinese version, please visit:
http://cinnalava.blogspot.com/2008/02/blog-post_15.html

On the fourth day after Chinese New Year’s Eve this year, my long-time-no see friend and I went to Wu Fang Pu (hereafter WFP), a clothes distributing center in Taipei, wanting to find some chic but cheap clothes. Entering the big market by one of the entrances on the east side, we saw streets that were almost buried by mountains of colourful clothes. Our blood starting boiling, we realized that almost half of the clothes there were marked on sale. What’s more, the average price of the on sale ones is only a hundred dollars. We spent eight hours there finding good bargains, that is, low price, chic style and, sometimes, good quality clothes. In the end, I bought 11 clothes for a thousand and four hundred dollars. In the last few months, I was constantly praised for the chic clothes when I wore them. In fact, I often visit WFP, looking for chic but cheap clothes. For some people, buying chic clothes can be an easy job. The only thing they need to do is take their credit cards to a shopping mall, finding a designer brand store, entering and start buying anything they see. After all, things that come out of well-known designers are always considered chic and stylish. That is what rich people will do; however, I think most of us earn a moderate amount of money and can not spend it as rich people do. Therefore, from my experience on buying chic but cheap clothes in WFP, here are my tips for you to follow.
There are some preparations you need to do before leaving your house for WFP. First of all, check on the Internet or any reliable resources to know which day is the wholesale day in WFP. If my memory serves me right, the wholesale day is usually on Mondays or Fridays. Avoid going there on a wholesale day because half of the stores focus on bigger customers and might even refuse to sale clothes to customers like you and me. Second, bring a friend. It is ideal to bring a friend that has fashion senses. The friend you bring is going to help you choosing clothes and should be able to give good advice. The third point is simple: dress in a casual and cool way. Shopping in WFP can sometimes be like fighting in a battlefield. There could be motorcycles rushing out from every corner, rude people elbowing their way out, the air getting suffocating. Otherwise, you could be worn out holding all the things you bought but can not find a place to rest. Obviously, in such conditions, the last thing you will need is walking on high heels with tight clothes banding your body while the heavy makeup on your face starts to shatter. Last, beware the stinking smoke because many people smoke there. I have come up with two solutions to the problem: wear a gauze mask or bring something that deodorizes the stink and smell it from time to time. I brought rosemary with me last time I went there. You can try coffee beans as well.
Your goal today is to buy chic but cheap clothes. Chic clothes are easy to find but a good price is not. Since WFP is a clothes distributing center, there are various kinds of clothes catering to everyone’s need. You need to learn to pick out fabulous clothes that are of your taste from piles of average clothes. Focusing only on clothes that are marked on sale and are priced specifically can make this job easier. If an outfit doesn’t have a price tag on it, the store owners can price it as they like. In other words, owner A might price a mini skirt for 200 dollars and when you go back again and ask owner B, another owner of the same store, the price is raised up to 390 dollars. It is lucky of you if the price gets lower every time you ask again; however, oftentimes, the price only mounts. As a person who does not like to bargain, I buy only the clothes priced from 100 to 190 dollars. Those clothes are hanged on bars outside the stores so customer can spot them easily. I avoid going into the stores because I might be allured by an unaffordable outfit. For example, I have seen a 2000 dollars white cotton camise in WFP. It seems ridiculous for me to buy it because if I had 2000 dollar on disposal, I would rather go to air-conditioned shopping malls with fitting rooms, benches and clean restrooms. In the end, I didn’t buy the camise and it haunted my mind for two weeks. However, do not mistake the things on sale as having flaws. They are on sale mostly because they are not hit clothes in the season. Whether an outfit is à la mode is not important to people who have fashion senses since they have their own styles in dresses instead of following the trend blindly.
Now that you know exactly where cheap clothes are located, you can start picking out chic ones out of the cheap ones. The best way to see if an outfit looks chic on you is to try it on. To some extent, it is harder to pick out chic clothes in WFP than in shopping malls because 90% of the stores in WFP do not provide fitting rooms. What’s worse, it is an unwritten law there that customers can not try on any clothes, not even a jacket. Scarcely are there owners that are willing to let customers try on their clothes. Under such conditions, the friend you bring becomes useful. For example, you spot a 100 dollars T-shirt with patterns you like. Hold the T-shirt in front of you and ask your friend to measure it for you. There are a few points that you need to pay special attention to. See to it that the width of the waist is not too tight: you might not be able to wear the outfit if your waist can not fit in and the money you spent on it becomes a waste. Also, see to it that the length is ideal: short T-shirts can not cover your belly button and long T-shirts will accumulate on top of your butts and make it looks bigger. After the measurement, check on the outfit to see if there is any irreparable flaw or if you are picky, see if the outfit is perfect. Finally, try to imagine wearing the outfit, making it like a 3D virtual reality on computer.
I experienced countless failures in buying clothes in WFP ever since high school. You might fail a few times buying ill-fitting or weird clothes at the beginning but the situation will definitely become better. Now, after four years, my instinct of buying chic and cheap clothes becomes sharper through every visit there and I often get the ones which are at stunningly low prices. Shopping in WFP requires clear mind, good imagination as well as much experience. Nobody ever told me how to shop there so I discover the shopping jungle myself and sorted some rules out for you. I hope after reading this, you can spare the discovering time and enjoy the sweet trophies you get in WFP when you put the tips I provided here into practice.

Everyday Aesthetics

2008-08-24T22:51:00.000+08:00

When there were dinosaurs on earth, men ran for their lives and lived in caves where everyday aesthetics was never found. Thousands or millions of years later, it was a time when everything was hand-made and aesthetics were mostly found in rich families. Later, there was the Industrial Revolution, a time when large quantities of products were produced by machines and merely the utility of them were concerned. At that time, aesthetics only existed in antiques. Now, a few decades after the revolution, things ranging from the tallest buildings on every continent to the smallest paper clips are designed with aesthetics. We are living in a world in which people are starting to pursue things that are both useful and beautiful. In fact, sometimes we refuse to tolerate useful products with plain or even ugly appearance. There are beautiful places in National Cheng-Chi University (hereafter NCCU) that are not only pleasant but also useful. Roman Square, with grass growing very green and half surrounded by stone chairs, is an ideal place for having lunch or a picnic. Ascending wooden platforms in classic design with trees on the way to the hill offers people a place to rest when they are tired while climbing up. However, there are a few things on campus that need to be evaluated seriously from an aesthetic aspect.
Being one of the prestigious universities at home, NCCU should have an entrance that impresses, in a good way, anyone who visits it the first time; however, the reality is still far from the ideal. The entrance is relatively small. To add insult to injury, when you face it, you see on its right side a greyish wall and on its left side the greyish side of a newly-constructed building, both jostling the entrance. The wall and the side of the building are all plain and boring with some maroon tiles on them. In addition, the side of the building, situated precisely beside the already-narrow pavement, makes the pavement look narrower and thus gives an oppressing feeling when people pass by. The side of the building will be much more pleasant if the designer either opened a few windows on it or located it away from the pavement. To put it bluntly, it is a mistake to have a featureless side of a building built right next to the entrance. Imagine the door of your house in the middle of two thick, solid, concrete and inaesthetic walls and you will understand what I mean.
When you are in the university, there must be time you have to answer the call of nature. Go to any lavatory on campus except the ones on the first floor of the Information Building because those are disasters. Standing outside of them, you smell a mixture of urine, droppings and damp. It is gloomy inside as if the light bulbs will break down anytime. And if you do try to get into one of the partitions, you will see a door with its layers shattering just like an old man can not stop his hair from falling. The partitions are so small that you might start wondering if you need to go on a diet. The trashcans are filthy and smelly with things no one will be interested in. After the call of nature is answered, you walk toward an old and dirty sink with cracks all over it. Now that you are washing your hands, you have time to look around. However, the only things you see are walls with cracks and countless disgusting small flies and stained white tiles appearing greyish. You want to vomit now because you have thought previously that those small black spots on the walls are some ridiculous decorations. The lavatories there have completely betrayed the concept of everyday aesthetics. They make the whole process torturing. What’s worse, they are mal-functioned.
Finally, it comes to the most private place on campus—the girls’ dormitory I. It will be ideal to live in a dormitory that resembles the rooms we have back homes; however, things are seldom as what we expected. I don’t live in the dormitory but I’ve been there many times and I’ve found that it is hardly a homelike place to live in. The walls in the hallways are white, the floors mainly grey, both are colours of the cold tone. The room is relatively small and crowded with six persons. Their beds are lifted up close to the ceiling and under them are the wardrobes and the desks to study. When they study, it seems to me that there is never enough of light because the light from the ceiling are easily blocked by the beds and the desk lights are weak. The room will not brighten up even with all the lighting on. As a result, it is often in a dim condition. The thing that stuns me is that the furniture is plainly made of steel, painted in the same grey. Will you buy a whole set of steel furniture for your house? You won’t do so because you know clearly that you are not living in prison. Steel furniture contains no warmth and is, again, inaesthetic when it is ill-designed. As far as I am concerned, the furniture achieves only the basic of its function but has nothing to do with the comfort which a dormitory should contain.
The foregoing are what I’ve observed in the freshman year in NCCU. Those things are a fly in the ointment on such a beautiful campus. Buildings should have been carefully designed, taking into account other things around it and the probable consequences. Old things should be renewed or replaced instead of leaving them there as an eye sore. The university had better put more attention to the things on campus and apply everyday aesthetics to them. In fact, we living in the modern world, it is not enough to only make a thing works; we must make a thing work beautifully.

My bedroom

2008-08-24T22:48:00.000+08:00

It’s a dim and cozy bedroom of a nineteen-year-old college girl, that is, me.
I have a modern-designed and four-bulbs light installed on the ceiling,
and a PHILIPS table light which,
under normal circumstances, are able to provide enough lighting.
However, it’s not a normal situation in my bedroom.
When people enter the room, the first thing they mostly want to do is turning the light on.
Why would they want to do that?
Firstly, all three walls are painted violet as I requested,
so I feel like a royalty whenever in the room.
The soft colour is also good for the eyes and makes me feel comfortable
unlike a room with fluorescent pink walls
that stink my eyes and makes anyone in the room go crazy.
Secondly, the floor is paved with padauk,
smelled soothing, which is in a dark brown.
In addition to it, the padauk floor give a warm feeling,
which the cold tiles can’t give, once I set foot on it.
Then, it comes to the four pieces of furniture I have in my room.
My closet,
set in the left side of the entrance of the room,
has a very broad sliding door in the kind of brown that is even darker than my floor.
The second piece is my credenza,
leaning on the wall on the right side of the entrance.
On the opposite side is my desk,
almost as big as the size of my bed.
Above the desk is the only window in the room.
The credenza and the desk go very well with the closet
since they are almost in the same degree of a dark brown.
The last piece of furniture is my bed,
lying next to my desk, in the same colour of the other three.
On top of it is my thick mattress that is so bouncy and that keeps warmth easily in the winter. As to my bedspread,
it’s always in the colour of ripe purple grapes,
my favourite colour.
Because of all these colours,
my room can never seem bright even when there’s sun light pouring inside.
The colour tone of my bedroom is a right kind of wrong:
I can sleep sound;
on the other hand,
I can hardly concentrate while studying in this too dim and cozy room.

Sean

2008-08-24T22:44:00.000+08:00

Sean is a friend of mine whose good-looking face often receives much attention from both girls and boys.
It is well said that people shouldn’t judge a person by his appearance;
however, Sean’s looks, carefully carved out as if he is one of the most handsome gods in Greek mythology, is still what people will notice at the first sight of him.
He has an angular face with, compared to most Asians, bold facial features.
The two most impressive features on his face are the eyebrows and the nose.
By no chance might anybody mistake him as a girl
for he has a pair of thick and arched eyebrows that show his manliness
and they are always neatly trimmed so he looks vigorous all the time.
His nose,
neither too big nor too long,
stands upright in the middle of his face
and sometimes has a pair of metal-rimmed glasses on it,
which makes he look like Hermes, the intelligent and handsome herald of Zeus.
He has a dark and tanned complexion,
due to his great passion on playing soccer and other outdoor sports,
that complements his manliness.
When he plays soccer,
he is Apollo, the muscular god of Sun who glows.
He is a leopard, a fast runner full of strength,
when he runs all over the field.
In addition to the exterior sportive and eye-catching images,
he is indeed a relatively mild and mature boy in our age.
People can discover that from his black eye balls in his almond eyes,
which are mostly tender and seldom contain anger or any other extreme expressions
and from his thin-lipped mouth, just as his eyes,
not showing many strong emotions.
He is not moody because he knows how to control himself.
He seldom talks not because he hardly knows how to express himself in words
but because he really knows the art of listening.
When he talks, he gives useful advice to people’s problems or consolation to other’s depression. In the beginning,
you may be attracted by his face
but gradually you’ll find out his inner strength and realize
he is more than an innocent eye-candy.

My time management skills

2008-08-24T22:43:00.000+08:00

There is a common saying goes, “Time is money.” However, I do not think money is qualified to be ranked equally to time. Money and time differ from each other and time is, in fact, a lot more than money. Time is something from the nature that comes and goes by regardless of your wishing it to be longer or shorter while money can be earned limitlessly. A rich person has twenty four hours per day whereas a poor man also has twenty four hours per day. By no means can a person earn more time like he earn more money. As a university student myself, I’ve met many other students who seem to always have sufficient time to complete their works while others struggle through every minutes they live. Personally, I think time management is essential and I have sorted out three steps to handle the “flying” time: prioritizing, procrastination-avoiding and concentrating.
The first and the most important thing I do in order to manage my time is finding out the things waiting to be done and setting my priorities right, in a short time. Even though there are many professionals out there strongly suggesting people write down what they have to do, I do not often do the listing on papers because I think it wastes my time. I prefer storing my daily and weekly schedules in brain. Nonetheless, where you put your schedule is only a personal preference but what really matters is how you put them. When I arrange my schedule, I carefully estimate and think over the importance of every affair. Needless to say, that is what prioritizing is for. You take out all the must-dos in front of you and put them in a proper order. I do not schedule things one after another because I might feel suffocated by the haste and pressure of being too busy. Remember, do not make a too tight schedule and always give yourself some time to relax.
Another proverb goes, “Actions speak louder than words.” so the execution comes the next with step two, procrastination-avoiding, as a help. Most of the time, the execution part goes smoothly but this is not a perfect world and no one should expect everything to move on just as he wishes. I sometimes encounter a few distractions or a wrong estimation of the duration of an event that might cause me to postpone my schedule. Still, if I keep putting off my plan, it is simply meaningless to have one in the beginning. When I, for example, can not finish the assigned preview of An Introduction to Linguistics in the scheduled time and there is, say, a Writing and Reading class essay following it, I will stop the preview and start composing the essay. For another example, when I have to choose whether to finish writing my diary or to go to bed under the condition that it is really late at night and I have early class the next morning, I will choose sleeping without hesitation so I will not doze up in class. My point here is, you must make the most practical decision so you are making the best use of your time. If you consider procrastinating, think twice of the value of delaying before you mess up your schedule.
The last but not least step is to concentrate on the thing you do. I always believe that concentration is what makes me do my job efficiently and I think many people have the same opinion as I. If you are often distracted by something you are not doing, you really must learn and practice to focus on one thing at a time. Distraction will not make you any good. When I am stuck in a torturing process of completing a job, like now, thinking very hard to come up with an essay, I try my best to only think of the essay though it is far less appealing than simply sit on the couch and watch TV. I can go watch TV right now but I refuse to do it for I know it is working time. Rather being held up in the writer’s block forever, I spend more strength on brainstorming so I am being more efficient and there will be great possibility of getting this job done well and quickly. Therefore, concentration is crucial since I do not want to fail the schedule I have made.
In a nutshell, time management is not jut about making a promising and neat plan that looks good but about acting according to the plan so it works well. Most people have their own tips for time management so they can distribute and get fully use of the limited time. As I have just showed, I have my tips for time and I like my own managing system very much. I do things more efficiently with these steps’ help and efficiency can make your life more different, in a good way. Thus, if you have not had your own way to time management, start developing it or you may want to try out mine.

Analysis of “The Cask of Amontillado”

2008-08-24T22:40:00.000+08:00

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short-story writer, editor and literacy critic. He was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story who wrote mysterious and horrifying stories and was considered the detective-fiction genre. Furthermore, he is credited with his contribution to the later science fiction novel. “The cask of Amontillado” is one of his famous short stories: Montresor, the speaker of the story, takes revenge on Fortunato, the person who is eventually walled up in a catacomb, for, according to Montresor himself, “the thousand injuries” Fortunado has given him. Focusing on three points, the following paragraphs talk about the point of view, the settings and the uniqueness of “The Cask of Amontillado.”

First person narrative is used throughout this short story. The disadvantage of first person narrative is that the information can be unreliable: readers can not know the information the speaker does not want to tell, that is, the readers receive whatever information the speaker gives us and do not have a clue whether the information is true or false, understated or exaggerated. In addition, the speaker’s confession is even more unreliable because of the time—fifty years after the murder can blur the speaker’s memory. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge" in the very beginning of the story give us the information that the speaker wants revenge due to the insults Fortunato has given him. However, the speaker gives no further explanation on any of the insults, leaving readers wondering what kind of insults he suffer or if there was really any insult. First person narrative helps Montresor justifying himself, making the readers pity him and believe Fortunato is not a good person. Nevertheless, the unreliable first person narrative makes the story more appealing and more twisted. If the story was told in third person narrative, it would not be filled with strong emotions such as hatred and pride; instead, the story might be plain and far less dramatic.

Besides the first person narrative, the two settings, one the carnival and the other the catacombs, also plays an important role in this short story. "It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend." First of all, dusk adds spice to the story. With the gloominess in the dusk, it seems that any bad thing could happen. Second, and the most important, the carnival, to some extent, justifies Montresor’s wrongdoing because in carnival time the moral rules are all removed, leaving no restriction. Furthermore, “The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.” Fortunato appears a clown and thus is dehumanized so that the readers might pity him less. The catacomb of the Montresors, the other setting, is inherently a spine-chilling place. With Poe’s descriptive writing, for instance, “From the fourth side the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size”, the catacombs become a even more horrible, a hell-like space, foreshadowing the death of Fortunato.

Finally, “The cask of Amontillado” is unique among other Poe’s short stories. Unlike Poe’s many other works, there is no detective, nor judge in “The Cask of Amontillado”, instead, the murderer confesses to the reader voluntarily and is not put behind bars. In fact, in my opinion, Montresor is telling the story not because he feels guilty about the murder but because he wants to show off what he has done. Commit homicide or take revenge on someone is nothing anyone should be proud of. However, Montresor is proud of his cleverness to “punish with impunity.” The idea is mentioned in the beginning of the story, “I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redressed.” In the end, Montresor achieves what he has planned to do. The crime will remain a secret if Montresor did not confess. This story is unique because it does not prove our common sense but gives an example of a success running away from justice.

“The Cask of Amontillado” is one of Poe’s popular short stories and personally, I appreciate the work too. Poe is a skillful writer to use first person narrative and choose the setting carefully, making the story happens naturally while the dramatic effects are still achieved. Reading Poe’s short stories is a chance to see the sickness in people’s hearts. Reader can experience the evil through reading Poe’s short stories. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a shocking story that satisfied the dark side of every reader.

References:
1. http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=30247
2. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/section11.rhtml
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_allan_poe

Analysis of Mostellaria

2008-08-24T22:38:00.000+08:00

Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254-184 BCE), also known as Plautus, was a Roman comedy playwright. He produced many comedies that were mostly adapted to cater to the Roman audience’s taste from the Greek models. His comedies are classified as New Comedy, which contain great differences to the Old Comedy, like those of Aristophanes’. In Plautus’ comedies, the themes, instead of talking about politics as in those of Old Comedy, are more focused on father-son relationship and the betrayal between these two characters. Plautus’ works include: Amphitruo, Asinaria, Aulularia, Bacchides, Captivi, Casina, Cistellaria, Curculio, Epidicus, Menaechmi, Mercator, Miles Gloriosus, Mostellaria, Persa, Poenulus, Pseudolus, Rudens, Stichus, Trinummus, Truculentus and Vidularia
Mostellaria is Latin and its English translation is “The Ghost.” The story happens in ancient Athens. A young fellow, Philolaches, son of Theuropides, an Athenian merchant, leads an extravagant life for three years, indulging himself in wine and parties with his friend, Callidamates. With his slave Tranio’s help, Philolaches buy a girl as his mistress, Philematium. Philolaches’s father, Theuropides, knows nothing about this thing because he is in Egypt. One day, when Philolaches, Callidamates along with many other revellers are having party, Tranio bursts in and announces that Theuropides is back and will soon arrive in the house. Tranio tells his master to hide into the house, making no sound. Then he goes out to prevent Theuropides from entering by claiming that the house is haunted by a person who was murdered 66 years ago so that there has been no one there for six months and that his son is now in another place. When Tranio is telling the lie, a money-lender comes and request that the money Philolaches has borrowed be paid back. Theuropides asks what the money were borrowed for so Tranio lies that Philolaches used the money to buy his neighbor Simo’s house while the money was used to buy Philematium. After examing the house, Theuropides is very satisfied with the purchase and tells Tranio to fetch Philolaches back. A servant of Callidamates comes to fetch him home when Tranio is away and accidentally reveals the truth to Theuropides. Upon knowing the truth, Theuropides flies into a rage and decides to punish Tranio. However, Tranio is in the end not punished thanks to Callidamates’s, who is finally sober, intercession. The play ends with no body being punished and no casualty.
In Poetics, Aristotle states that Comedy is an imitation of inferior actions. Comedy imitates the ridiculous, which is part of the ugly. As to the length, Comedy is no less than Tragedy, it is of a length that allows the hero in the story to go through from good fortune to bad and vice versa, containing also “beginning, middle and end.” Comedy should also have its universality of characters, time and place in plot. A universal plot is an appropriately delimited series of casually consequent events. While a tragic plot is about an error that will arouse the pity and fear of the audience, a comic plot is ridiculous without a painful or destructive error. A comic character first does mischievous things without knowing to whom he is doing harm to and then the mischief nearly completed but is somehow avoided. When his mischief is informed, he might be punished but not to death since no killing should be involved and no bad thing should happen in a comic plot. Abusive languages is used in Comedy to achieve “laughable content” because “abuse is often laughable.”
In Act 1 Scene 1, which means the beginning, of Mostellaria, Tranio has a quarrel with Grumio, Theuropides’s servant who is left at home, in abusive langauages. Grumio refers to Tranio as “whip-scoundrel” while Tranio calls him a blockhead and so on. In this beginning, we can see that Plautus uses abusive languages as often as possible to entertain his audience. Throughout the whole play, characters are frequently calling each other “simpleton”, “blockhead” and other nouns with negative meaning. There is of course an end to the play, that is, when Theuropides accept Callidamates’s intercession for Philolaches and Tranio. Abusive words appears rarely in this part; instead, the play ends with people who have made mistakes being forgiven for no reason so that everybody is happy.
Though Mostellaria is an Old Comedy, it still retains a universality of character, time and place. First of all, characters speak what, in their positions, they should speak. Tranio, as a servant, is clever, calculating and sly, telling his master what to do. Philolaches and Philematium, as young lovers, express their passion for each other with blatant words. And Philolaches alone, speaks of the punishment he will give to Scapha just as a real master. As to Theuropides, though he is formerly deceived in the play but when the truth is revealed, he acts as the most powerful man in the household to give punishment. Second, it is in two houses that the story happens. We know that in the beginning of the play that Theuropides is in Egypt on business but there is not a scene about Theuropides in Egypt nor do we see the process of Philolaches buying Philematium from a brothel. Last, the story is told in chronological order with no flashback, which appears often in modern plays of the stream of consciousness. There is no scene that is about an event that happened in the past in between two scenes.
While seeing the play, or reading the script, we can laugh lightheartedly because there is nothing for us to pity on nor fear about. It is ridiculous that Tranio tricks his old master and Simo so easily. In addition, it is even more ridiculous and incredible that the two men are so easily deceived by Tranio’s lies. However, we will not pity Tranio or Theuropides because there is nothing except stupidity that might arouse out pity. Even when the truth is revealed to Theuropides, Tranio receives no punishment in the end. Therefore, we feel no fear since no one is harmed. Mostellaria is certainly a comedy that conforms to the theory of Aristotle’s Poetics and a light play to enjoy.
References:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plautus
2. http://www.chlt.org/sandbox/perseus/mos_eng/page.0.a.php
3. http://www.gpwu.ac.jp/~kitano/papers/comic.pdf