so I did what a nerd would do

In the past week I have watched 4~5 good movies. One definitely stood out, and some of you know what I am talking about.

Fight Club.

I am glad that I didn't watch it when I was younger. I would be very disturbed. Even now, I can't help thinking about it. Sometimes I caught myself talking in my head with Edward Norton's voice.

So I did what a typical nerd would do. I bought the book from Amazon.com, then joined the message board on IMDB.

Every question deserves an answer.

Sidenote: another quite nerdy thing I intend to do is to calculate the right portion of ingredients to make the bread so that I don't have to leave 4 extra batters each time. I will probably do it with the help of Excel.

need a little bit Homer's attitude

Marge : Homer, the plant called. They said if you don't show up tomorrow don't bother showing up on Monday.

Homer : Woo-hoo! Four-day weekend!

another accomplishment

The illusionist

If the comparison has to be made, I would top "The illusionist" over "the prestige". The latter one is more of a movie about bold revenge than smart scheme.

In "the illusionist", each single incident played a key piece to the big picture, although it seemed totally irrelevant on the surface. What I saw tricked me into an illlusion of what was happening, which was, of course, not true at all. The only truth was love and promise between the two lovers.

Interestingly, so is the "reality" we are experiencing. We think we are living our lives, doing what we ought to do and making no difference to anyone other than ourselves. How can we know if it is another illusion?

don't know why

I feel pretty good today. I haven't felt this way for quite some time. And my mood also changed my way of viewing things around me.

When my advisor came to ask for the draft of my paper, I was not intimidated at all. Quite the opposite, I was glad that he put a little pressure on me (overall, he has been very nice to me), because it provides me the driven force to get something important done during the weekend.

I don't really like spring, but I love the transition between winter and spring, seeing the snow melting and the trees turning green and the birds singing. It is vibrant.

It's all about hope.

7.27.07

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/thesimpsonsmovie/

If you love Homer, remember this day.

time to use a list

In this Chinese new year, I'd like to:
1. see that my family be safe, healthy and happy
2. graduate (obviously)
3. find a job I enjoy
4. have more mature relationships
5. keep a healthy body and mind

(per request)
6. have healthy and happy friends :P

I was slow

An old friend of mine called me last night to wish me a happy new year. We have been friends for over a decade. To be precise, I had a big crush on him in college for a few years. Then we became buddies.

I am mentioning this because just minutes ago I remembered that after graduating from college there was one time he flew to Beijing to visit his relatives, but at first he came to my place. We hung out and chatted all night long. Actually we had nothing to talk about after a few hours, but he wanted to stay. It was awkward. Now it occured to me that he probably liked me too. I simply assumed if you like someone, you go ahead and tell him/her directly, like what I did.

Ha! If I was smart enough to figure that out, my whole life would be different. I am not saying that I have any regret about it. It is just funny that it is now revealed to me. Like reviewing some old movie, I finally understand what it was talking about.

Life is interesting.

***********************************************
This same friend told me last night that he is coming to Cincinnati for some training next month. Maybe I will be able to drive down there to visit him. We haven't seen each other for about six years. That will be fun!

Grey's Anatomy

is the most emotion-sucking TV drama that I have ever seen. It can successfully get me in tears twice per episode if I don't try to hold back.

I can't even say that I love this show. But, man, they are good.

this time of a year

I have been eating a lot lately. It was scary to find out I even had to try larger size pants in the store. But what can I do? My stomach has a huge nostalgia around this time every year.

Chinese New Year is just around the corner, which is the biggest holiday in China, and in my family too. Delicious and everlasting food would be my memory. Actually, my memory for the whole China would be based on food.

Usually on New Year's Eve, we have a family dinner together, which is as important as Thanksgiving dinner here. My dad was the head chef. My mom was his assistant. It would be either me or my brother who washed the dishes though we never volunteered. Then after dinner, we gather around and watch the New Year's show until it passes 12pm. In the old days, we would go out and ignite some fireworks, but it's prohibited in cities now.

The first thing in the next morning is that we say blessings to everyone in the family. Then we visit our relatives around town and give them blessings too. Even now, I still keep the tradition by calling my family on their New Year day, if there is no traffic in the phone lines.

Besides the food, there were two more things I liked about the holiday as a child. First, I got new clothes. Secondly, people gave me money. It wasn't a lot, but as a child, I felt like I was the richest person in the world.

let's face it

Not writing blogs doesn't help my thesis writing.

Some people found blogs disappointing because they view it as a tool of communication. I have no problem with that. I simply enjoy writing, not technical writing though.

Also, I decide not to let the number of visitors bother me.

Let it be.