终于写完了！

花了两个多月的时间，终于写完了。。。我的硕士论文写完了！第一次写这么长的东西，总共130页，一共3万454个字。哈哈，教授还说：“Excellent Thesis. Congrats!”呵呵。

写论文实在是个折磨人的差事，没有经历过的人是永远不会明白的。真的不知道以后怎么写博士论文。

Chasing Cars

A song that I really like that perpetually repeats on the SF Bay radio...



Chasing Cars
by Snow Patrol

We'll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don't need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel

Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads

I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see

I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

自讨苦吃

最近才发现，我是个不能闲下来的人，论文的第一篇草稿刚刚写完，教授还没批，我就联系了十多个人，忙着安排时间表，进行访问，筹划两大篇专题。。。

有时候，真的是自讨苦吃。

How to Save a Life

Another song that repeats on the radio, as often as I repeat to read the words I wrote in my not-yet-completed thesis.



"How to Save a Life" by Fray

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
How to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life

Hey There Delilah

Another simple yet catchy song that repeats on the radio in the Bay Area...



"Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's

Hey there Delilah
What's it like in New York City?
I'm a thousand miles away
But girl, tonight you look so pretty
Yes you do
Times Square can't shine as bright as you
I swear it's true

Hey there Delilah
Don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there if you get lonely
Give this song another listen
Close your eyes
Listen to my voice, it's my disguise
I'm by your side

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me

Hey there Delilah
I know times are getting hard
But just believe me, girl
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar
We'll have it good
We'll have the life we knew we would
My word is good

Hey there Delilah
I've got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away
I'd write it all
Even more in love with me you'd fall
We'd have it all

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me

A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes and trains and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way
Our friends would all make fun of us
and we'll just laugh along because we know
That none of them have felt this way
Delilah I can promise you
That by the time we get through
The world will never ever be the same
And you're to blame

Hey there Delilah
You be good and don't you miss me
Two more years and you'll be done with school
And I'll be making history like I do
You'll know it's all because of you
We can do whatever we want to
Hey there Delilah here's to you
This ones for you

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me.

Collide

This song keeps repeating on STAR 101.3 while driving on the 101. Hmm... actually so do many other songs.




"Collide" by Howie Day

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah

I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide

I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find
You and I collide

Don't stop here
I lost my place
I'm close behind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find
You and I collide

You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide

Streets of London

以前说过很多次，不过我还是要说：我好想念伦敦，伦敦，伦敦。。。。。。我要回伦敦，可是没有时间啊！！！！！！

My First Earthquake Was Like A Phantasmagoria

About 20 hours ago, I experienced the first earthquake in my life.

The quake struck on October 30th 2007 at 8.04 PM, Pacific Time (Singapore Time: October 31st 2007, 11.04 AM).

I just left my house and was on my way to the Meyer Library, when things around me seemed to start shaking.

I had a cold that morning and so, I thought I was hallucinating. I thought I was dizzy.

So, I continued to walk to the library, dismissing the tremors as my personal phantasmagoria.

And when I arrived at the library, people’s reactions confirmed that it was an earthquake.

Things around me were really shaking.

This 30-second earthquake measured 5.6 on the Richter Scale. In other words, it was a moderate earthquake, with slight damage to buildings possible.

This is the largest earthquake since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which killed 62 people throughout Northern California, injured 3,800 people and left more than 12,000 people homeless.

We later found out that the epicenter of this quake was on the Calaveras Fault in the Diablo Range foothills nine miles northeast of San Jose, i.e., miles away from Stanford.

Even so, the quake still managed to rock the University and sent shock waves across campus.

More than three dozens aftershocks followed the quake, the largest registering magnitude 3.7, and only happened just a few minutes ago.

The University was quick to respond, reassuring students that the situation was under control. No reports of damage on the Stanford campus were documented. Neither were there reports of death and serious injuries throughout the bay area from San Francisco to San Jose.

This quake, to some people like my Cantonese professor, is a harbinger that might herald the arrival of a much larger earthquake, possibly quakes similar to that of those which struck in 1906 and 1989.

To others, yesterday’s quake is a reminder of so many faults lurking beneath a large population. To name a few famous faults, there are the San Andreas Fault and Hayward Fault - I’m sure you have seen these names in your Geography textbook.

The Hayward Fault is currently perceived to be the most dangerous in the San Francisco Bay Area. Scientists give the Hayward Fault a 27 percent chance of a magnitude - 6.7 or greater quake - higher odds than its storied neighbor and California’s best known fault, the San Andreas Fault.

And so, a big earthquake in the next year or so, or even the next minute, is not impossible.

And we are all prepared for it.

All new incoming students at Stanford are trained on what to do should an earthquake occur.

Oh well, this was a new experience, at least for me.

It still seemed a bit surreal…

~~~~~

(This was a post for OMY. Please go to http://blog.omy.sg/campusworld/ for the original post with pictures and video.)

Wake Me Up When September Ends...

都已经是十月中旬了，我还在睡和醒之间游走。。。我须要在应该清醒的时候清醒，沉睡的时候沉睡。。。




"Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day, live @ the UK

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends

Like my fathers come to pass
Seven years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends

Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are

As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends

Ring out the bells again
Like we did when spring began
Wake me up when September ends

Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are

As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends

Like my father's come to pass
Twenty years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends
Wake me up when September ends
Wake me up when September ends

全世界失眠

怎么我最近老是睡不着？？？

T-H-E-S-I-S in progress

I shan't say more. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.


My work-desk in my room (actually I'm surprised it's not messy).


A small selection of the books I need for my thesis (I haven't gotten the rest!).


Working on my beloved Macbook Pro.


My Desktop - more things to read!!!

圆满

刚过去的9月，身边的个别朋友分手的分手，离婚的离婚，注册的注册，结婚的结婚，而且几乎都是在同个时期，都是接近在我回去新加坡的时候。

说实在的，我对于朋友们分手、离婚、注册、或是结婚，都抱着同一个心情和态度：高兴。。。不论他们和她们是刚分手、刚离婚、刚注册、或是刚结婚，我都是替他们和她们感到无比的高兴的。感觉高兴的原因是复杂的，也因为个别情况显得不同，但总的来说，我还是高兴的。（我不是在幸灾乐祸哦！）

离婚的变得很清醒；分手的似乎变得潇洒；注册的变得比以前快乐；结婚的变得沉着⋯⋯单身的我看着和听着他们和她们的经历，似乎也成长了一点。

离婚的朋友说：“离过婚后，人生好像变得圆满了。”

其实，看着喜欢的人的生活快乐，自己也就快乐，即使是单身，即使和喜欢的人不是一对，不也是圆满的吗？

可是，偏偏很多人不同意，还骂我笨。我真的笨吗？

睡眠失常

写论文的生活开始逐渐规律化，我的睡眠却未正常化。有时，晚上11点就睡到不省人事，然后睡到半夜3点钟又自动醒来；有时，下午很累就睡了两个小时的午觉，于是，晚上怎么也睡不着。我肯定我的睡眠失常不是jetlag引起的，怎么说飞抵美国已经两个星期了，身体不可能jetlag两个星期，也从来没有jetlag这么久。

所以，我的睡眠到底为什么不正常，我也不知道。最近还开始做梦了，我不是经常睡觉就会做梦的人，而且已经很久没有做梦了。还好最近的梦不是噩梦。。。

Paris, je'taime

今年5月，我们在纽约的一个法国小剧院，看了这部名为"Paris, je'taime"的爱情片子，很有意思，电影的一首歌曲也朗朗上口，到现在还经常在我的Macbook Pro上面以repeat mode播放。

本来对巴黎的印象不是很好，看了这电影，忽然好想回去巴黎一趟。。。

回到美国。。。

离开上海，回到岛国，只逗留短短的六天，却见了不少朋友，ok，至少比以前多很多，但是没有见的依然还有很多⋯⋯抱歉啦，我明年1月9日永远地回新加坡，不怕见不到面。=)

想到即将要永远回到已经离开4年多的新加坡，就心有余悸，那天回报馆碰到深江，他第一句话就问我：“回来啦？for good?”我就想也不想地立刻回复：“还没有，还没有⋯⋯”他以笑脸回应，再问了有的没的⋯⋯之后，也和新慧姐聊起回国后适应的问题，原来，大家都需要学习。

现在又回到美国，我还在调整一个人住大 studio 的心情，还在调整每天的时间表。虽然只需要写论文，看起来很简单，其实不然⋯⋯呵呵，我快要被我桌上叠地高高的资料和书本逼疯了，而我只回来斯坦福一个星期罢了。于是，我也选上了高尔夫球课，郁闷时就把气全出在球上好了⋯⋯

=p

还有7天

上海的天气开始慢慢转凉，九月初的这几天都在下着细细绵绵的小雨，城市也开始在渐渐变化。昨天路过每天会经过的中信泰富广场，发现那里的星巴克突然消失得无影无踪。才一个周末的时间，这家俯拾即是的咖啡馆就不见了。

也听说，复旦大学附近的五角场在这两年来，也是发展得出奇的快，要建成像徐家汇一样。。。

说实在的，上海市的变化有时叫我招架不住，也叫许多上海人受不了，一有时间就纷纷跑到杭州或苏州去享受远离尘嚣的写意。我们也是，上周末，我们就在杭州享受两天的西湖静谧。

另，还有七天就要离开上海了，还有好多地方还没有去，还有很多个饭局要赴，还有很多朋友要见面。回到新加坡后的6天，更是不得了，天啊，我怎么老是过着这样忙的生活？！

回首 Stanford 的阳光 (Part 3 of 5) - Winter Quarter 2006-2007

(1) Monterey & around (5th to 7th Jan 2007)


Jellyfish @ Monterey Aquarium.


More jellyfish.


By the bay (We actually went whale-watching but the sea was too choppy we didn't take any pictures).


To quell sea-sickness.


Another one.


Looked good, but tasted only OK.


Carmel-by-the-sea.


Point Lobos State Reserve Park.

(2) Lake Tahoe Ski Trip (13th to 15th Jan 2007)


View of Lake Tahoe from the ski-lift.


Snow-capped.


Tranquility.


On the ski-lift.


EX on the ski-lift, looking professional.


Snow fight starting...


Here it goes...


All is well again... (actually, there was more going on nearby...)


The guys by the lake.


Everybody by the lake.

(3) Chinese New Year Celebration @ 207 Running Farm Lane


I love Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing Co! :p

想念 California。。。

摄于斯坦福 Main Quad @ 2007年6月17日的毕业典礼

～～～～～～～～～

在上海的日子，还有17天就要结束了。脑海里一直浮现出袁惟仁的“恋曲L.A.”的旋律，歌词不断提醒我 California 的阳光有多妩媚，生活有多自在，心情有多辽阔。后来，王菲也唱了同样旋律但歌词不一样的《旋木》，但我还是喜欢袁惟仁的歌词多一点。

我以为我只会思念伦敦的。。。但我错了，原来，我也会想念 California 的。。。还好，我还有4个月，可是朋友大多数都不在了。。。

～～～～～～～～～～

恋曲L.A.

作曲：袁惟仁；作词：袁惟仁

还记得去年夏天在LA的机场
你捧着一束鲜花清纯的模样
在入境大厅里不停的望
怕我的出现消失在你身旁
你说这座城市有你编织的梦想
在时速限制只有九十的路上
我莫名期待地望着窗
让你驾着我们未知的去向
Sunset Boulevard Santa Monica
爱情的地图原来是怎么样
Above the City around the highway
你就是我的天堂
Santa Barbara Pasadena
爱情的幻灭原来才是成长
Above the clouds round the shadow
迷失也是方向

中国媒体界的“红包文化”

低调中的不低调

酷暑中的清凉

媒体的道德底线

在恰当的时候鼓掌

和谐社会还有很长的路要走

与上海公安的第一次亲密接触

懒得写。。。以下就贴了我在《我报》的专栏：

Blog Under Construction

I finally decided to change my blog layout. It will be fully functional in the next few days. =)

上海 vs. 伦敦

上海的黄梅天闷到不行，我却每天坚持走半个小时的路上班，同事说我是超人，第一次听到有人在黄梅天竟然走这么长的路的。我只微笑不语，想起在伦敦穿街走巷的岁月。突然间，好怀念在伦敦彳亍的氛围，和上海“这个国际大都会”简直是相差十万八千里。

上海，来了快3个星期了，却还没爱上她。

心理老是想着伦敦。

希望今年秋天能回伦敦一趟。真的好想念。当然，还有秘鲁。

仍旧匆匆的初夏

已经快一个月没有 update 了。一个月以来，过着匆匆飞来飞去，走来走去，驾来驾去的生活。这里就先告知一下过去一个月的匆匆近况。

6月12日，学期结束后，便是到 Yosemite 国家公园玩了三天。之后又回到斯坦福，“参加”了毕业典礼。然后，我们又从学校开车到了 Yellowstone 国家公园，从 California 到 Wyoming 一开就是整整15多个小时。待了五天，然后又开15小时的车回到斯坦福，又待了一天，就匆匆飞回新加坡。飞回岛国之前，我们还去了 Daly City，吃了很久没吃的 Koi Palace 点心。=)

然后，又和以往一样，在岛国非常短期地逗留了仅仅四天，仍旧一个朋友也没有见（抱歉！）。之后，又搭飞机到曼谷，然后转机到上海来（因为机票比较便宜，要不然早就搭新航的直航班机了）。

这样辗转，已经是7月1日了。

结果，抵达上海后，已是累得不成人形，又要找旅店，然后找房子，又然后找工作地点，之后又得在一天内熟悉上海。我对自己的超强适应能力，感到无比自豪。=p

现在，上海的生活总算比较尘埃落定。也终于找到了办法登录 blogspot。中国竟然把该网站（和BBC新闻网站）给禁了，但却没有禁 blogger，真奇怪。所以，理论上，我是能 blog的，只是看不到我 blog 的内容，所以过去两个星期干脆不 blog。好了，既然现在已经找到办法钻过这讨人厌的防火墙，以后能继续发帖子了。

暂时就这样，明天再写。

回首 Stanford 的阳光 (Part 2 of 5) - Winter Break @ Mexico 2006-2007

(1) San Miguel (19th Dec 2006)


Cathedral @ day.


Same cathedral @ night.


Street.


La Casa.


One of TA's many self-taken photos.

(2) Guanajuato (20th Dec 2006)


Aerial view of Guanajuato.


Companion.


Truco 7's Street.


Hilly Guanajuato.


University.

(3) Guadalajara & around (21st Dec 2006)


YJ flying by TA...


YJ grounded by me... I was tired after that!


TA taking revenge... I'm helping...


OK, a more proper shot...


Sumptous meal at friendly Chinese restaurant (these were the leftovers! you can imagine how much there was to begin with).


Agaves - main source of Tequila.


A tequila distillation plant at Tequila's hometown - Tequila.

(4) Acapulco (26th Dec 2006)


Fortress.


Tree.


Crowded and dirty beach.

(5) Mexico City (27th to 31st Dec 2006)


Interesting exhibit at the anthropology museum.


Amazed by I-forgot-what at Xochimilco.


Templo Mayor.

(6) Teotihuacan (29th Dec 2006)


On the way up the world's third largest pyramid...


We made it!!! TA still climbing??


Gorgeous view of Teotihuacan


Hmm... TA made it, but I still don't know what YJ was doing to T.


Seeing what YJ was doing, I fled down the pyramid!