Sometimes I gave up studying late into the night. Not because I was sleepy, but because I was too hungry and my food supply ran out. Apparently there is no access to food in Prince at night. That would be the time when I started to crave for food at the Seven Fifty @ Stanford, IHOP in foster city and last but definitely not least, Denny's!!! It was so satisfying to hang out there with my project team at like 1-ish and have the meat lover's scramble with a thick stack of pancakes, then dive back into work after draining that huge strawberry milkshake (not very good but drinkable). orrrhhhh... so nice... well, the good old days... 

so today, in order to keep up with my mugging spirit (mug: singaporean slang for study excessively), I bought all sorts of food, two full baskets.

 

 

近日，日本共同社记者小泽一朗到北大进行突击采访。在南阁（国际合作部） 门 口，小泽一郎采访了一小个子男生（后证实该男生为国际关系学院学生纳海？）。以下是现场原版真实问答记录：
　　
　1.问:你支持抵制日货的这种观点或行动吗?
　　
　　答:每一个人都是一个个体,每个个体都是自由的。我无法左右别人的思想，也无权控制别人的行动.
　　
　2.问：你如何定位中日关系？
　　
　　答：客观定位,平等互利关系。
　　
 3.问：从学生的角度看，你认为两国关系中最大的障碍是什么？
　　
　　答：显然，日方在很多方面做出了错误的言论和举动，而这是我们不能接受和容忍的！一句话，改善中日关系需要日方正视历史，拿出善意和诚意。
　　
　4.问：你个人使用日货吗？
　　
　　答：有，马桶。（在场学生大笑）
　　
　5.问：那你告诉我，为什么日本的马桶会比中国的好？
　　
　　答：在中国，这种话题是不登大雅之堂的，在公共场合提论这种话题是很变态的。（笑声）当然，我不知道是你有这样的嗜好，还是贵国有这种习惯。（笑声）
　　
　6.问：关于历史问题，中日两国是否有途径可以卸下这个沉重的“包袱？”
　　
　　答：请注意你的用词！我不同意你的这种说法。你的这个问题本身就在诬陷中国。自古至今，中国从不存在什么“沉重包袱”。中华民族是心胸开荡，豁达前瞻的优秀民族，宽厚待人，睦邻周边是中国的美德。因此我们正视历史，但绝不以怨抱怨。我们容忍和解，包括对待日本。请问，中国和中华民族的历史包袱是什么？中国人民做过对不起日本的事吗？问题恰恰是侵略中国、犯下滔天罪行的日本不正视历史，在中国烧杀掠夺，疯狂地要灭绝中华民族。犯罪的日本不向中国和中国人民认罪赔偿损失，还要叫嚣海外出兵扩疆,分裂中国，霸占中国国土，激怒中国人民。这样的史实太多。请问，这是中国背历史包袱吗？　（在场学生鼓掌）
　　
　7.问：我也经常看新闻，最近一段时间,中国生产事故频发，死亡率想必不会低吧？
　　
　　答：同你们国家一样，每人死一次。　（笑声、掌声）
　　
　8.问：在中国大学校园里，学生自杀频繁发生、屡禁不止，这是为什么？
　　
　　答：事实上，学生自杀最多的是在你们国家。许多稀奇古怪的自杀方式就是你们国家的自杀一族发明的。在联合国公布的相关资料中，日本的自杀率排名世界第一。我不知道你手上有什么足够的证据来证明我国的校园自杀事件。毛泽东主席有一句名言：“没有调查就没有发言权”。希望你做客观真实的报道。对你刚才提问中使用的词语我有必要纠正，在中国汉语语法中，“频繁发生”和“屡禁不止”是重复累赘，用词错误。而且，你的说法不符合事实！（掌声）
　　
　9.问：在日本留学的中国学生非法窃取日本的机密情报，你知道吗？
　　
　　答：我无法核实你的消息的准确性和真实性。这种荒唐说法就跟布什打伊拉克是因为萨达姆偷了布什家的高压锅一样可笑。　（现场大笑）

北大学生就是牛!超级崇拜。

Lately, the Chinese media frenzy is fueled by a flurry of idol contests - Supergirl (超级女生), Good Boy (好男儿), Dreamer China (梦想中国) and more. Each contest has different viewer base, but the programs are similar. A small group of contestants will be selected from a large pool of candidates to compete for regional championship, and then the national championship shall he or she qualify for the final. The selection process is based on each individual's popularity rating through sms voting, assuming no manipulation is involved. The champion will gain immediate national celebrity status and even international fame for some cases - Li Yuchun, the champion of Supergirl 2005, was featured in TIMES magazine as one of the most popular persons in China shortly after she claimed the title.

 

What is with this idol insanity? Why are millions of Chinese people so crazy over a few teenagers whom in my impartial opinion can barely perform?

 

Well, a couple of reasons. First, it's a new form of entertainment, at least relatively speaking. It's like the very hot IQ contest such as Happy Dictionary (开心辞典） five years ago. I am not even sure whether they still have that now.

 

Second, many guys like myself still treat it like a beauty pageant. Yeah, we are shallow.

 

Third, many guys like myself like to laugh at people who goofed up, especially william hung style. Yeah, we are mean too.

 

Fourth, many guys like myself are simply coaxed into watching it by its massive marketing campaigns. In short, we are fools.

 

The last point, which is what I am really interested in exploring, is the d.e.m.o.c.r.a.c.y factor. Empowered by the voting system and their cellphones, the Chinese people are having the luxury to choose, for the first time since 1949 . I know it's nothing political here, but the very act of bestowing direct support on someone of your own choice is a thrill to many. It doesn't matter that Li Yuchun cannot sing or dance or doesn't have the looks. She is just a normal person like you and me, from a neighborhood just like yours and mine. She is my choice and she carries part of my identity. When she triumphs over others, I triumph over others. When she sorrows, I sorrow. When she rejoices, I rejoice. As a symbol, through Li, all her supporters identify themselves as the family of "corns" (玉米) which aggregates all the individual influences into a powerful action body, erm... in less political terms, fan club. Further, many minorities in China are given the recognition in these competitions. In the "Good Boy" contest, the champion is from a southwestern minority tribe, and the runner-up is audially and vocally challenged.

 

Through fervent participations by the general population, I can almost feel the call for d.e.m.o.c.r.a.c.y and equality in the society. In fact, the g.o.v.e.r.n.m.e.n.t intended to suspend the Supergirl contest after two years into its operation as "it has shown some inappropriateness". I will never know if the two things are linked. But one thing is for sure. A call for d.e.m.o.c.r.a.c.y at any level can be alarming to a country whose biggest problem lies in its inability to create a representative g.o.v.e.r.n.m.e.n.t.

 

*some words are dotted to prevent c.e.n.s.o.r.s.h.i.p.

最近被多次告知我变白了。开始是包括我妈在内的几个女生。我没太在意，毕竟女生心细，能观测到最细微的变化（就算是透过网络摄像头）。这几天有两个男生也说我变白了。太奇怪了！不就是换成了Biore的facial嘛，效果这么明显？看来它除了有防痘功能外，还能调整什么28天的皮肤新陈代谢周期什么什么的。哈哈。

 

我曾经是个日晒狂。每周日中午都和我室友去田径场跑步，晒到遍体通红。有时闻闻两肩还有烤鸡翅膀的味道。可皮肤天生只会晒焦，没法变黑，而且一晒就脱皮，努力多年始终没能晒成古铜色。所以也就接受现实，顺其自然了。加上艳艳前几天说过由于东方人的五官特点，脸上皮肤白点好。美女的美容之道是一定要听滴，我也更心安理得了。不过在新加坡变白还是八年来首遭。Anyway, 今天话语么劳劳，背啊背色的。。。

Some interesting observations on territorial sovereignty in Prince George's Park (My Dorm).

 

The basketball court belongs to the Chinese.

The tennis court belongs to the Europeans.

The car park belongs to the Singaporeans.

The staircase leading to the main entrance belongs to the Indians.

The taxi stand belongs to the exchange students/club-goers.

The lounge before mid-night belongs to the Malaysians.

The lounge after mid-night belongs to the Indians.

The canteen belongs to everybody.

CBA的球队应该都学学人家希腊队的防守。中国队的国手们大多窝里横，就是因为国内联赛防守不行。

 

还有就是要多练力量。怕紧逼说明身体太单薄。我记得上海队以前有个章文琪，技术一般，靠身体强壮还进了国家队咧。

 

看得不爽，下去打会儿篮球，切几个外国人出出气。

姚明被换下

在场的中国球迷还在助威。

现在好像双方互相涨分。刚才在我房间看球的杨凯同学见大势已去，无奈离去。

还有七分钟，差24分。

姚明要球，但拿不到，吸引了3个防守队员。中国队其他队员怎么就不跑动一下，拉开空当来呢？

现在看上去好像中国队已经放弃了。

打得也越来越滥，抢篮板还把球碰出界。让我想起了在宿舍里打球的情景。

已经是垃圾时间了。

发底线球都被断。到底是基本功问题，还是体力问题，还是心理太紧张了？

所以说每次中国队打强队，要期待他爆冷是无望的。

赛前采访队员时每人所谓的“立足于拼”其实更像是自甘凌弱，毫无底气的托辞。

唯一的亮点是王士鹏的发挥。看来那记压哨三分还是给他带来了信心。

哎。。。。又看了场输球。

靠！

换了个据说更强的软件，但却出故障了。等再用回tvkoo时，下半场第三节已经过半。中国队失误已经15次了，主持人说是“触目惊心”

落后12分了。哎。。。

网络又断了，赶快联上去啊！

落后15分了，又被人打了快攻。

打内线，控制节奏啊。

中国队明明知道控卫怕逼抢，但又没人上去接应。那还不被断？

一帮小日本观众穿着希腊球衣在叫嚣。

网络很慢，太郁闷了，第三节比分26：6，开什么玩笑？！

现在我正在网上观看中希大战。虽然用这个软件看断断续续，每隔20秒会停5秒，不过已经很好了。比赛快开始了，中国队加油！干翻希腊这斯那斯的！

 

第一节开始了，这里一节是10分钟。中国队先发跟上场一样。刘伟，神奇的王士鹏，很像我一个同学的朱芳雨，还有明郅。

王士鹏首开中的。

中国队上来打了个8：0。孙悦比刘伟好用。大个后卫，像魔术师约翰逊。姚明后场篮板控制很好。希腊队发挥有点失常。

姚明一个火锅！

希腊队终于得分了。

他们的中锋头发很长，但打得很笨拙。

后来上了个黑人中锋，希腊怎么会有黑人？也叫什么什么斯的。真奇怪。

姚明又是一个盖帽！

易健联上场，连中两球。随着他的压哨中投，中国队领先结束第一节。

易健联高高跃起，补篮中的。跳得真高。应该扣进去的。

字幕显示他18岁，但听她自己说他已经24岁了。

第一节结束，18：11。牛！

 

中国队第二节开始还是打得不错。但希腊队的后卫开始发威了。

中国队屡次被断球。

比分成胶着状态。

陈江华上场了。

失误比，中国队10：0。typical.

小猪三分又中了！！神准！和我一样！哈哈

陈江华突分被断了。对方快攻，竟然把我方球员撞倒。还得分了。

进攻中姚明没有怎么投篮么。还好外线投手有一定的发挥。比分没有太多的落后。

第二节41：36，中国落后5分。还有希望。第三节别崩盘就好。

The road to success is a long one. Sometimes you can run through it; sometimes you just have to wait till the lights turn green. When life is against us, have a little faith. Stay with me, I will always be around.

从昨晚开始宿舍的网络就消失了，所以只好去朋友房间打texas holdem。今天白天要办正经事了，网络还不回来，真是脱轨的郁闷。看来有时候这基本设施也不是那么门门张的。在能上网的时候还是多做点增值的事比较实在。

So I am having six courses, four finals, three projects, two philo papers; well in short, one busy-working-my-tail-off semester. But school is fun - so far, I haven't skipped a class - that hasn't happened in centuries.

 

My courses are all specialized this sem. No more maths 101 like in year 1. The projects involve real industrial problems from real companies. That's a thrill. In fact, during the system design project briefing, you could feel the hype among students in class. That reminds me of how enthusiastic I was about the risk analysis project from Homeland Security last year. This time, I will be leading the team to work with our client in the chemical industry. Also, my teammate has worked there in the summer, so that gives us a tremendous jump-start. I really see great things happening working together with my team.

 

I am also getting in touch with my INTP side (The Thinker, according to MBTI) in a philosophy class. If this works out, I will take poetry reading next.

 

As I walked to school this morning, I found myself humming "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, and I am feeling good~~~"

 

In restrospect, the school was like this in the old days. People around me didn't change much either. Perhaps, it's my attitude that has changed. It's funny how my life in California over the last year, and very importantly, my life in Hangzhou over the last month - all the things I did and all the people I met in other places - have transformed the way I look at things in Singapore.

 

It's getting late, and I am gonna work on my dissertation a little bit before I turn in.

 

"I push myself to the limit so my talent'll surface." - Nelly in Heart of a Champion.

The Giants in the bottom of its division. The Mets stays on top and having the longest winning streak in the league (5 wins). Say what?

 

I just hope the Red Sox will stop the slide and find their rhythm back facing the Orioles tomorrow. They better be otherwise good luck hosting the Tigers and the Yankees next week. But really, who cares about baseball here?

狡辩只能博得更多的鄙视，更少的同情。

 

环法是骑不来了，真要骑车，就在加州老家的沙滩上过过瘾吧。

So I am back in Singapore from the month of August, staying at Prince George's Park Residence. What a nice name by the way! Prince, George, Park. But the people here like to spoil it by calling everything by initials. So it becomes PGP. Sounds like some insecticide huh? I wonder what will happen if the park belongs to Prince Alexander instead. And don't even get me started on other bad acronyms like NUS (anus without an a) and NUSEA, haha, how to pronounce that? Anyway, I digressed.

 

So I got a room in Block 28, ground floor, which at first stank like every other guys' dorm, both inside and outside. The room itself was a mess, and interestingly, it had a very multi-racial representation with some Palestinian passport document on the desk, a pair of used chopsticks on the floor and a scent of indian curry in the air. Throw in some American porn and Regethon music, we will have our own little UN running in here. Or what most guys will call it, dorm life.

 

So while whatever the previous occupant did to survive/create this atrocity is admirable, the rotten living style is abominable and unacceptable. My first reaction was to stay at Nancy's for a couple more day and appeal for a better room. But waiting and begging the authority is just not me. One thing I learnt from America is to take matters into your own hands. Damage control rolled out right away. I got a corridor cleaner to sweep and mop the surface; an apartment super to remove the beehive I found on the window (wtf!?); and an exorcist to expel the evil spirit. I was joking on the last part, I did it myself. :D While the evil spirit was gone, the evil smell lingered. Some dirt was so tough against being removed from where it lives that it reminds me of George W Bush. Finally I got rid of that with some full-hour scrubbing and four types of lavender fragrance.

 

Next, facilities. There are two refrigerators in the kitchen. One is broken and the other is filled with junk and expired products. Someone put a sign on it which says "you never know which food is MADE foul to eat, so steal food at your own risk." But rather, it should say "all the food in here is foul to eat, so feel free to steal them if you want to die." No choice. I bought a bar fridge. A very small one, but enough to store my gatorade and heineken. That's fine.

 

Then, air-conditioner. I got a type C room. There is no air-conditioner, no bathroom, and not even a sink. I don't want to be a disrespectful brat here, but are you kidding me? It's a crime not to install air-conditioner in any tropical country so hot and humid. It affects a man's performance in everything, if you know what I mean. There are ways to solve this problem, not by taking blue pills, by getting a portable air-conditioner. But it's a bit tricky because you need to dig a hole somewhere to stick out the exhaust pipe. The walls are actually pretty thin. I think I can break through a small piece of them with the right tools. But I don't want to be a risk-taking dope as the Management gets real mad if they find out, and believe you me, they will. So I have to go for the windows. The bad news is that it's a push-open window, so it's hard to seal it up once the pipe is placed. The good news is that there are DIY shops selling the stuff I need to work it out. The better news is that now Courts will work that out for you for 30 bucks or less once they deliver your air-conditioner. Apparently it's some promotion to battle against the low sales in this month - the month of Ghost according to the Chinese lunar calendar. People are scared that if they buy stuff, it will be haunted. Well, we will see.

 

So far, that's all I did to re-model my room. After all, it's a nice place to stay. The gym and basketball court are close, and I have great neighbors. As for the private bathroom, that's quite a stretch to make. But who knows? Nothing is impossible.