The Phantom of the Opera

Dream of the Red Chamber

Down by the Salley Gardens - Yeats

Down by the Salley Gardens　　　　　　
My love and I did meet　　　　　　　
She passed the Salley Gardens　　　　
With little snow-white feet　　　　　

She bid me take love easy　　　　　
As the leaves grow on the tree　　　
But I being young and foolish　　　　
With her would not agree　　　　　　　

In a field by the river　　　
My love and I did stand　　　　　　　
And on my leaning shoulder　　　　　
She laid her snow-white hand　　　

She bid me take life easy　　　　　
As the grass grows on the weirs　　　
But I was young and foolish　　　　
And now am full of tears　

"Down by the Salley Gardens "

Lyrics by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas arrived, quietly and cheerfully.
I was wandering around the downtown area, trying to feel the Christmas in Lund.
I guess people were all going home, circling around table to enjoy their Christmas feast, chatting and having fun for the grandest festival in a year.
It was extremely silent on the streets, though there was a few people like me who was taking pictures. This is the only and last Christmas for me in Lund. I like this small town. It filled with all the good memories of my study life here.
During Winter time, it is getting dark early as usual. But Lund, at the Christmas Eve, is getting more quiet than I had expected as almost all the shops' window lights turned off at 5 o'clock.
There were people gathering in the big Cathedral downtown, praying for happiness. I would like to pray for the health and happiness of my family and my friends.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Corridor Christmas Party!

We had a Christmas party last night. It was so much fun. I didn't expect that as I am not a party animal. I seldom go to parties unless I know that it will definitely be fun.
What we did last night was we 13 corridor friends gathered together, cooking, eating, drinking and having fun. Though we share one kitchen, we seldom have a chance to meet all the people.
Someone said it was the first time we made it. Each of us cooked one dish and we shared food with each other. Very much like a buffet, we queued for food though only 13 :). Fetched food and drinks and rotated seats from time to time, we got chances to talk to each other. My Swedish friends made exactly the food that they will have for Christmas at home. It's very interesting to know what are they going to eat and to do during the Christmas time.
It's a tradition in Sweden to sing before drinking. I think it's fun and helps a lot to warm up the atmosphere. Last night, we sang a lot and drank a lot, though for most of time, I was just listening to them singing as I barely know a word about Swedish.
After dinner, we circled around our tiny Christmas tree, hand in hand, dancing. That's a very fun part of the party. I didn't know they did like that before. Everybody was happy at that time, though some said mainly kids do that dancing and they haven't done that for quite many years. Most of them couldn't recall some lyrics of the dancing songs.
Yeah, party was all about eating, singing, drinking and dancing.
But what a Christmas party last night!

My Girl - Never say goodbye

My Girl is one of the most popular South Korean TV dramas this year starred by Lee Dong Wook and Lee Da Hae. It is a story about how Ju Yoo Rin (Lee Da Hae), an unstable tourist guide in Jeju Island is bonded with Seol Gong Chan (Lee Dong Wook), a rich director of a top hotel in Seoul. My Girl is more of a comedy than a drama series. There are a total of 16 episodes, though I think it could be shorter. But it is more light-hearted compared to most of South Korean dramas. It is definitely a must-watch if you like watching South Korean TV dramas.

Say that you love me is a song that reflects exactly the feeling the two main characters have for each other. Beautiful melody!

Never say goodbye is the theme song for the drama. It sounds like a mixture of western rap and S. Korean-pop.

A real daybook

It's Friday. Again, a rainy day.

Basically I did nothing:
1. Woke up at 9:30 am.
2. Checked university library and requested 11 books about technological change, social development with economic development.
3. Went to Asian Library to print out diploma application form for Xuan.
4. Bumped into Nick in the library, my classmate from UK who just back to Lund yesterday but will leave on Sunday.
5. Headed to Student Service Office and submitted the form.
6. Back to corridor and made lunch.
7. Surfed the net.
8. A quick talk to Xuan.
9. Met my supervisor.
10. Went to Asian Library again to pick up a book but found closed.
11. Encountered with Montse outside the library, another classmate from Spain who back to Lund in early November and will go to Spain for Christmas for a week.
12. Picked up a student certificate from Marina, my teaching assistant, for my possible trip to Czech in mid-January.
13. Back to my dorm and checked the mailbox, found a new payment bill for the housing next month.
14. Surfed the net, got a funny merry x'mas e-mail from Zhang Dingmin, one of my best friends who is having fun now in Tokyo.
15. Prepared my dinner though it's just a pizza, a cucumber and a glass of juice.
16. Tried to read an article for my thesis but not finished, found hard to concentrate.
17. Started doing some cleaning, mopped the room while listening to really loud music.
18. Did some laundry.
19. Wrote a daybook before going to bed.

It's really nice to meet two of my classmates here in Lund Friday. Good to know that they are all doing well so far. Both of them just finished the first drafts yet need some change. Quicker than I.
I think I need some change. Should get rid of those unpleasant mood caused by the long long road of writing the thesis.
I know I will.
Have a good sleep tonight.
Tomorrow is another day!

When Christmas comes to town

When Christmas comes to town, Santa is on its way, it says.
It is a lie or it is not a lie! Coz every year Santa is too busy to show up for most of us.
However, we should keep the wish that one day Santa will find us.
It is not necessarily the Santa who sends out the gift wrapped in red and green. It is the one who cares about you and helps you make your wish come true.
So is there such kind of Santa around?
Yes, it is you and it is us who will be someone's Santa and vice versa! Your Santa will come around sometime somewhere.
Are you ready to be a Santa?

Mission completed?!

No, No, No!
Don't look at me. Still struggling for my thesis writing now, I am!
This is all about my wife who has completed her Master thesis some two months ago.
Just got a great news to share! LOL..LOL... She got a "Distinction" for her thesis.
Congratulations to my beloved sweetie!
Though it was not like "a dream come true", it is a great honour and respect for her diligence and intelligence. I am proud of her. ^Q^

Culinary Clash

Made myself a traditional Chinese soup tonight - Pig leg and mooli soup. It tastes great as it always is. :)
I am not good at cooking food, but it seems that I have a great potential on that. When I was young, my parents used to run a small fast-food restaurant where I fed my stomach well and learned how to cook some basic stuff at the same time. My favorite food in my parents' are fried bread stick with soybean milk. They were famous for making fried bread stick in our small town. Sometimes we saw people queuing for it. They closed the small restaurant many years ago since we all grown up and didn't have to make a living on it. I miss it a lot.
The cooking skill I've learned from my parents helps me a lot to ease my thirsty for Chinese food during my overseas study. We even made some new cooking methods that we'd never thought that we could before. I myself love OX-tail soup the most. I found the similar recipe online but add some other extra ingredients. It looks awesome and tastes awesome too.
LOL, practice makes perfect.
Actually we can do many things if we stick to it.

Most difficult time

Done with the three most important chapters for my thesis now, though they are just the first drafts. What left now are the parts of introduction, concept and models and conclusion.
I assume they are not hard nuts to crack compared to the previous three parts. But who knows.
The thing is I am already getting tired for writing though I confess the process is very rewarding. I learned a lot from writing my thesis. It is kind of process to reorganize what you've learned to serve your thesis.
I guess that's a common feeling for people who are in the middle of writing a thesis. A misery never ends.
The good thing is my adviser seems quite satisfied for what I have written so far. "We, of course, need to make some change in your drafts, but it is good and you are working hard and very talented," he told me. It is very encouraging, though I know it clearly that people say such kind of words for politeness. But those words do cheer me on.
Need to take a rest tonight to recharge myself.
And I miss my sweetie so much.
Baxia, fighting!

A way of expression

Listening to the music is a fantastic way of relaxing.
It is a world where you can express any kinds of feelings ranging from happiness, sadness, hatred, angry to depression and sorrow. Right now I feel liking doing nothing but immersing myself in music.
It is kind of embarrassing that I am not so sure which kind of music I like the best. However, if you ask me the question, my immediate answer will very likely be Jazz.
When I feel low, I tend to choose Jazz, full of emotion and extremely expressive. The twists and turns in Jazz for me is a good way to send out all the misery feelings. Most of Jazz songs are very touching. Singers have to sing Jazz with their souls. That's my understanding about Jazz. But the dilemma is I don't know many Jazz songs.
I also love American country songs very much. Each song tells a story.
And some Cantonese songs. For some of them can really touch the bottom of your heart.
However, it is sometimes really hard to find an appropriate song for your inner world at the right time, isn't it?

Chocolate Christmas Coming!

The calender just turned December.
My corridor friends made a Christmas chocolate house.
What a cute little yummy house!

Writing a dessertation

Really get tired and misery about writing my thesis.
Bumping into one of my classmates' blog today. I found what he wrote in his blog reflected exactly what I am confronting with now.

Here are the excerpt of the discussion about writing a dissertation:

“Writing this dissertation is really the first big thing of your intellectual life. It is going to be a very tiring process. It is not like writing a paper: you get it done and you send it off somewhere. Writing dissertation: you get your first chapter done, and you feel you have lifted the weight. But what is waiting? Your next chapter. After a few chapters, you get really tired and you see no end to this misery. When I was in grad school, there was this famous play coming out, called, The Loneliness of a Marathon Runner. That is exactly the feeling of writing a dissertation. Only you run and compete with yourself, not others. So you have to be in good physical condition too. You need to exercise regularly. ”

“You have to figure out a way to sort your materials. You cannot keep all in your head. When I write, I always have a mental map of chapters, and then I number them 1, 2, 3, etc. Later when I come across an article, have an idea, I collect it or write it down and number them according to which chapter I feel they belong to. So they go into the pile numbered 1, 2, etc. You can give multiple numbers to articles, ideas too. Just remember to distribute them to other piles when you finish your first numbered chapter. I am not saying you should follow my way. But you got to find a way. The only good way is the way that works for you.”

“Books are quite different from dissertation. Most people rewrite their dissertations when they turn them into books. Because you need to prove you are a scholar in your dissertation. When you write a book, you are a scholar. But in a book, if you state up front what your objectives are and what you found, no one would want to read the book. A good book walks with the reader through a journey, hand in hand with the author. For all social sciences, really good work is only done by good writers.”

“You read and learn from the books you really admire and that speak to your heart. Do not say Marx or Nietzsche is cool, so let me copy them. But they are not you. Read a book not as a consumer, but like an author. It is totally a different perspective. Like watch a movie not as a member of audience, but as someone who makes movies. Then you will get better.”

“I know how sensitive the period is for a grad student. You are not sure you can do it. You have many doubts. You have to think more strategically and get what you want. Many people have gone through this route, but many people have failed too.”

It's really enlightening. Hope I can go through this route.