Long time no message!

Hard to log onto the site for a long long time. Even don't know wether the message I am typing could be uploaded successfully or not.
Sometimes we rely too much on computers and network. Hard to tell.

Determined and Disciplined

Life is meaningful to all of us.
I should learn to be determined and disciplined.
Make progress everyday.

Mission Accomplished!

Finished my thesis today.
Exhausted! Guess will a good sleep tonight.
I had expected that I will be very happy to end the long miserable torture. But the feeling now is really something different. Hard to explain. There is a sense of achievement as my supervisor is quite satisfied with my job. I myself feel good too as I accomplished one hard mission on time and good, though the completion of the thesis also means a new start for the coming new life.
Writing a thesis is process of learning, it's not only about learning new knowledge but also learning myself.
Life in Lund as a student is pending to an end in just three weeks.
Enjoy the last happy weeks and get ready for the new life.
It is beautiful!

What is your new year resolution?

The calendar turns to 2007! Happy New Year!
Have you got many new year resolutions? I do.
I uphold that the best things are to make dreams come true, though for many times, we are likely to suffer before attaining what we want. And it is good to have dreams, isn't it?
God bless you and me!

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!