In fact, I don't believe I can acutally log on MSN messenger and found a handful MSN pals online...

 

My exposure to latest news is minimal. I heard it's some earth quake near Taiwan that caused the break off of some fancy benthal optic fiber cable. The cable is suppose to convey most of mainland China's internet traffic to the rest of the world.

 

The result... MSN messager completely crashed... in the wake of the quake, something more catastrophic than the natural disaster came along---people, especially office workers found out that it would be impossible to work without an instant messenger like MSN! Oh, what office has not been tainted... since when have we become slaves of such convenient little softwares? Ask yourself this, can you live without your mobile phone? I presume no one is going to give a positive answer to that question. I certainly hasn't gone to the point where MSN messenger seems indispensable, but IT IS for many white collars who have to spend at least one morning downloading and registering alternative instant messengers and inform everyone else about the change.

 

I couldn't help wondering about what the world looked like before the invention of mobile phones. How did people find each other at that time? Old-fashioned perhaps, it must be exciting and much more satistfying to receive a letter from someone you care. Nowadays people just take out their mobile phones and press DIAL. Pretty much like fast-food restaurant or instant noodles, you get something too easy, then it's not going to feel that fabulously well.

 

Nothing's wrong with technological advancement, but the idea of temporary escape from work sounds a lot less plausible when everyone starts to use "out of battery" as an excuse.

 

Loss is bad, for I'm forbidden from my favorite NPR podcast Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Loss is good. In a way it reminds us of things without which we can't live or at least won't feel comfortable about. Am I digressing again?! Sorry, but I can't seem to help....I couldn't be arsed.

Man it must be freezing out there. I almost slipped aside on a piece of ice while jogging in nothing but a single sport outfit. It was too meager to shield myself from the chill.

 

Naturally as a result, I unconsciously jogged into a barbeque restaurant and ordered grilled fish, chicken and some cabbage salad... Not bad, those packed solar energy guaranteed the safty of the journey home.

 

I didn't realize it was minus 10 degree centigrade or something... but it was too cold for jogging.

 

Thinking about indoor swimming, will ask DQ tomorrow about the recommended locations.

 

BTW it's pay day, feels good to see your accounts get fatter  

Well, here's the curry chicken thingy, spent about 10 minutes cooking.

 

And the soup in the right bowl is "hog's hoof with soybean"

 

Of course there's the red wine from Chile, 2004.

 

I choose white meat, chicken breast to be exact in the curry chicken thingy. The reason is white meat is often healthier than red meat. Don't ask me why, scientists and common sense both say that.

 

Hog's hoof with Soybean is rich in collagen proteins and thus is very good for repairing your joints after jogging for a consecutive three days.

 

Red wine helps you get out of the exercise-induced excitement  and fall asleep.

 

By the way, I tried everything within my power to make this meal as delicious as possible. And healthy.

 

The One -- RF Online Theme (Online Games are not always evil, are they?)

Good News Number One:

 

MFA preliminary round, got 110 out of 150. A rate of 96.9% means if there were 100 who participated in the exam, I'd rank 3rd.

 

Secondary round test will be held in February the following year. It is going to be, like almost all sorts of exams have been, a piece of cake for me.

 

Good News Number Two:

 

I got to translate the Brazil part of Lonely Planet!!!! After doing a little online audition (actually it's a trail-translation) I got the job!!!

 

I'm not in it for money, as the payment was almost not much of anything. But think about it, Lonely Planet is like backpacker's Bible. I always admire those who would acutally leave the conveniences of the 21st century modern cities and spend their efforts venturing alone into some castaway hermitages, and meet people there. It's my pleasure to do something for them. In this case particularly I'm serving the Chinese backpackers.

 

I did some translation for commercial books like the Love Mark one which was written by Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Kevin Robberts. But none of them are as exciting as this. Be it a stereotype or not, I always consider travelling people more interesting and humane and closer to nature than office guys who spend most of their time in concrete buildings and private jets. For a guy who can't live very happily without his regular showers (preferably one in the morning and one at night), the best I can do is to be of a little help to Chinese readers who would buy the book and kick off some dirt in remote kingdoms.

 

I guess God is fair, so he is bound to take something away from me for those blessings I enjoy. No matter what they are, I am prepared. Self-restraint is the best remedy to avoid ecstasy or striking grief. Even though you're bestowed with the bests of life, always keep in mind that some joys can only be attained through forfeiting and letting go.

Hopefully tomorrow I can finish work early and do some cooking. I'm really into it right now.

 

The main course would be a curry chicken thingy.

 

I'm thinking about spaghetti or pasta, it depends on which ingredient I come across tomorrow.

 

The sauce will of course come out of my own recipes, ones that are constantly tested and improvised in my mind. This time I'd use tomatos, pork, onions and some shallots.

 

What's for desert... well, I'd be happy with some yogurt.

 

Red wine? Definitely!

 

 

Last night I didn't sleep, for a 2000 Chinese character translation. It was supposedly a favor for a friend of mine. Actually a very good friend back in college. Basically they called me late and want the stuff ready by next noon, as I have a regular meeting to attend to this morning at around 9:30, that request left me with about something like 6 hours.

 

It was about some southern private Airlines setting up a JV with an American company. The new Joint Venture will provide regional aviation service in Chinese market. There were many proper names, names of certain companies, agreements signed and all that stuff. So it's not only about translation, but also involves a cerain amount of research and rewriting. I suppose the author of the Chinese version was some how really worn out that he came up with broken and empty Chinese which was extremly difficult to comprehend. I had to make literal translation from time to time, knowing one has to choose between the less of the two evils when faithfulness certainly outplays deviation.

 

The final product, is by far the best I could do. At around 6:00 I attached the doc file and hit "Send".

 

Job finished, I had a quick shower then put on my outfit and left for office...

 

Somewhere there, a regular newsroom meeting, was waiting for me. Although it is only a formality and most of the time you just sit there and listen, you had little choice but to physically be there. Working isn't always passionate, actually, the bulk of it is rather dull and dry.

 

Anyway, since I'm physically here, it's better to roll up my sleeves and set about doing as much as I can than squandering these lethargic hours by letting your head rolling around your neck. It's not ethical to blog during work hours? Well it's in fact launch time and I already finished it

 

I tried connectting to the online broadcasting streams of local ABC radio stations. But neither 702 Sydney nor 744 Melbourne could give me a smooth connection. I got lags all the time, even at the low rate of 20kb/s, I got fragmented sentences that are broken by the constant internet lag.

 Half an hour later, I gave up. I know things might turn better if I use ProxyCap to redirect the connection of Windows Media Player to a proxy which has a faster connection speed with Australian site. But that would be too complicated, first I've got to find a free working proxy, then capture Windows Media Player's connection port and then redirect the traffic of that port to the proxy.

Anyway, you can skip the second paragraph because it's too technical. To put it simple, I was forced to tune in NPR live streaming yet once again in a futile attempt to listen to stations with more decent accent, such as Australian ones.

Australian accent, I should say, one closer to that of the British Isles certainly has its own flavors. It's lighter, happier and less serious than the British accent, but not as playful as the American ones. There are many historic reasons and also geographical reasons for that difference. I presume that climate is a big factor. While the British Isles are constantly encompassed by gloomy and unpleasant rainy days, its people turn to the side of sarcasm. Australia on the contrary, has ample sunshine and beautiful beaches which made its people more lively and artsy. The same climate factor can also explain Germany and Italy. Gemany's bad weather contributed to many great philosophers and mad extremists like Carl Marx and Hitler. But Italy's Mediterranean climate and long coastal lines generated most of the prominent art masters of the renaissance.

I am quite well aware of the fact that generalization may be politically incorrect nowadays. But without it, Newton would never have discovered gravity, or the fact that a lot of people like to hear themselves rattle...

 Fine, overwhelm me with that American accent so prevailing and so omnipresent until I'm too old to change my own.

I used to have bias towards indepent tv programs, thinking they're either trivial or poorly made.

 

This stereotype is corrected today, just after I jumped in my pajamas and about to go to bed, I came across this video clip on Tudo.com

 

Independent programing could also be well edited and significant!

 

It's about a Jewish girl called Anna Sophie looking for her future romance in Beijing. She tried bar streets but found player dudes passionate only about one night stands and she tried countryside and ended up in a futile search for males under the age of 70, and she even tried the Jewish district in Beijing, namely the Chabad (pronounced Habad) district, to no avail.

 

The crew is comprised of Anna Sophie, the star in the show, Luke Mines the camera guy, Jeremy GoldKorn the producer and the two talented music composers, Fernando Fidanza and Jerry Chan. I guess Luke and Anna did most of the field work, meaning the budget for each edition could be rather slim.

 

You can tell from the show it's gonna sell. Be it a commercial or a non-profitable one, the Sexy Beijing show has many elements which serve as a guaranteed prescription for success. It's a plot well designed to keep you watching, although cleverer audience will know after several episodes that the show ends should Anna ever succeeded in her search. It extracts pieces of real life in Beijing, the countryside, the bar streets, the Jewish District, you'd exprience these if you're here. Unlike something you know made out of TV.

 

By the way it brings about a very intrinsically creative idea: A Jewish girl hunting Chinese males in the country's capital city. It's almost like Lora Croft gives up her treasure quest and settles down with an African guide!

 

CCTV International should really consider outsourcing some of its air time to similar shows like Sexy Beijing, saves time, money and builds audience rating, why not?

The temperature is minus 5 degree centigrade, I was in nothing but a T-shirt and a sports pant. The good news is there's no wind, so you won't feel very chilly while jogging. Bad news is, because there's no wind, the air kind of condenses, you get to breath all sorts of air, especially automobile exhaustions.

 

That's why I only jogged for about ten minutes and decided not to continue.

 

Gyms are ok, but I just don't like the unnatural feeling running on a jogging machine. Outside, it was almost impossible to breathe... I mean breathing decent air.

 

Early man built tools to beat each other over the head and discovered fire to cook meat to celebrate afterwards. Gradually, they started asking questions like why stars change during different seasons and is there a place a guy can get some swimming in winter? I've located some places in town and will try them out. I hate bragging, but I do breast stroke as fast as a slippery fish.

 

Anyway, it's pretty difficult to keep fit in this time of the year in Beijing. In a way, I feel certain mammals are blessed because they don't have to worry about getting fired for hibernating or sleeping all day. Do most of us enjoy more freedom than animals? At least they have control over their own lives, sleeping whenever they want. 

 

You just got so anxious to work out after your job kept you in a lousy newsroom for over fourteen hours. As a naturalist, you know working 8 hours a day is alreay against nature. Our ancestors had to endure much physical labor everyday, either running after kangaroos or climbing the trees for coconuts. Now most people just sit in front of a computer for hours and get paid for it... no wonder so many are suffering from obesity-led problems like not being able to see one's knees while sitting and having round faces.

 

I don't want an iota of that, that's why I've got to find a decent place to work out, any ideas?

I guess MSN space's back online, let's do a little copy and paste.

 

At least they don't block MSN space that often.

 

I'm trying to download podcast clips from NPR and BBC, let's see if it works. I'm getting a modest connection speed at around 17kb/s. not bad for overseas connection.

 

I'll copy them into my mp3 player and listen to them in the metro as I have to spend one hour and a half going to the office, on workdays. Other times I just open Windows Media Player and tune in the streaming service.