Finger crossed. My new year resolution is to be PUNCTUAL

my handson snowman!

，

Kate and Howard made a pizza as our dinner. It was burned. Mom came home. No dinner. She is making dinner.

us at the end of 2009, yay!

怯弱的时候，说服自己离开需要千千万万个理由。。。但鼓起勇气时一个理由就已足够。。。

trade

oh my goodness, look at this trade map i copied from BBC's website.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8365135.stm

ikea

We r heading to ikea again. Lots stuff to return. I dont really have much sense of how to decorate rooms. Just go with feelings. Kate and i got into small arguments when preparing the returning items. Neither of us was patient. I saw more and more of me in her, that indulged me....

...

Cant believe it's still having AC on in the train. I am wearing winter jacket, but i am freezing, not from the weather or the AC!

。

In bj......

。

She said she is going to turn me into someone who is more suitable to this society, who knows how and when to change behavior when given different circumstance. Be more flexible she says, you dont have to be so honest.

health issue

。

So many opportunities seem open up to me. But to grab these opportunities really depend on how bad you want yourself to be.

。

从早上醒来到现在一直在哼唱猫的memory. 发现自己近几年学会的歌着实很少。在想这就是变老吗？

。

BBC has an article saying that grumpy people tend to be more attentitve to the matter and can withstand pressure better compared to happy people who tend to do better in creativity. Also sad people are not as forgetful as happy ones. See..... Being grumpy is not always bad. :)

。

Had an exhausting day. I prepared so much food to take with me, but still end up starving.

I GOT A HAIRCUT!!

SHORT HAIRCUT!!!

LL, i had a good time hanging out with you today!

see you next time!

。

Cant get online recently. The internet company will come on saturday to install the service. Patience.

。

Finally settled down. we r going to ikea or target to buy furnitures and accessaries. I don't have the internet services yet. And do i need to pay to get basic chanels? I have no clues....

。

Mom insists to move at 1130am. She was told that's a good "time" to move. So although we got up at 7am and got everything ready at 9am, she still demands to leave at 1130am. So we are waiting in the empty room and sometimes at front door with two aunts and three cousins who come to help. Waiting--------

。

My gosh, i can't believe we have sooooooo much stuff. Even after we threw so many things out, there are still so many!!!!! This is terrible.

。

We are moving in to the newly purchased house this coming friday. Exactly 10 years ago, my mom and my sister first flew to here and started the new chapter of our lives. And 10 years later, we finally got a house that's called home.

。

I went to vesid in manhattan with bro today. I was redirected to a queens office since my bro is a resident at that borough. I was told to call for an appointment and wait to be contacted afterwords. Hopefully everything goes smoothly from then. Thanks lingling for this helpful information! And i shall not forget to bring the copy of passport and other signed materials to larlar tomorrow.

。

The crossroad of main st and roosevelt in flushing has the worst smell.

。

I don't know since when i have been assimilated into a group of monsters. I feel like i am in a pond of mud. I have struggled, but the more i struggle, the deeper i have sank. I hate being emotional, but i admit i have become more n more sentimental. I just don't want to go home.

check this out

we are online~ you can download the picture yourself.

http://galleries.thedigitalphotobooth.com/gallery/8896533_q4QHR#590697898_GKyXn

。

老话：出来混的总是要还的。

关于健康。

1）昨天去看牙医。牙医提到我的智齿没有长出来。想想我认识的好多人都有智齿，我怎么就没有呢？莫名有点小失落，我想和别人一样。但又想智齿不出来也是好事，最起码不用像很多长智齿的人那样经历拔牙痛苦。不过我这么说也不对，如果智齿生长的位置不好，影响到其他牙齿的话，在里面或在外面都要拔掉。医生说我有一口不错的牙齿，不需要任何大工程，保持良好的刷牙习惯就好。只是一颗智齿生长的位置有点挤压到最后颗牙齿。半年后复查时再照x光。现在想想很可能是我经常托腮帮的结果。NND!
2）妈妈几日前闪了腰。吃了药贴了膏后渐好了。晚上给她推拿时想起自己前段时间手也扭到，暗暗决定从明天起就开始练瑜珈。就算不为自己身材着想也要为自己身体着想。

头痛

对于我哥哥，家里人是一百二十万个不放心。 签证拿到了，只是高兴了半天，就开始担心他怎么自己过来。还没担心完这个， 又开始担心电子机票能不能及时传真到。还没担心完这些，竟然开始担心他来后， 我们都去上班了，谁来陪他。
哥都这么大的一个人了，虽然情况特殊，但如果接下来老是用这样的态度对他，他和他的家庭怎么在美国好好独立的生活。想想接下来的日子，真是兴奋中略带疲惫啊。。。

。

伸个懒腰。明天又是休息日了！ 回来纽约已整整一星期。 回来后的第二天早起去上班， 经理见面给了个大大的拥抱， 连说我看上去活泼了。 然后接下来的几天都是早睡早起。 周日很有心意地做了一顿晚饭，结果厨艺不精，无人捧场。 哥哥的事情逐日进展，妈妈殷切跟进。 房子的事情也算顺利，我现在是满心满眼地盼望新房里早点给我配个洗衣机和烘干机，我的日子就好过了。

strawberry in season

最近狂吃草莓因为正是草莓季节当道啊～超棒的。

胃差

自从回来纽约，胃口全失。回来也才第三天，却已经要挨着饿入睡三天。完全不想吃东西，饿得受不住了，就塞点什么来充饥。胃酸还是像伊朗的抗议，一波接一波。原来我不仅要调时差还要调胃差。

today

pretty exhausting day. we're going to have a big day on Monday, so my boss is quite nervous. many things have been rearranged. hope everything goes well monday, i don't want to lose my job... hahaha...

good news from my office.

so the weather is pretty nice today. i went to work early because of my jet lag. it was nice to see people around. And a good news is that one of my co workers got into her dream medical school. she got accepted into all the schools she went for interviews and eventually chose her first choice. She does not stand out from the crowd very much; but she was calm and gentle, and she has her wisdom and her ways of getting things done. she is one year younger than me, but is so determined and faithful to pursue a career that requires much time and work. And I seem always to worry about things i don't really need to worry, and am always afraid of things that are no need to be afraid of. So when I heard her news, I was so happy for her and at the same time, for myself because i see another glimpse of hope.

屋漏偏逢连夜雨

从几内瓦到新泽西机场11个小时飞行中，经历了最少5次的乱流。虽然都不严重，但最近有法国航空的不幸新闻，所以机上很多人明显地在乱流来时显得异常安静。好不容易临近终点站，却又因为雨天的缘故在机场上空颠簸盘旋了将近20分钟。第一次出现晕机现象，忍啊忍。下了机后还是跑去洗手间吐了。

从新泽西到纽约34街一切顺利。可到了42街，整个世界天翻地覆。因故障42街7号车不开，我只好去坐NW车。因为有行李在身，我尽量选择做电梯，结果同一条长通道走了3次，因为工作人员临时因故取消站点。又在同一个电梯上下做了三次，全因标注不清；42街有这么多地铁，电梯里居然完全没有站号标记。兜兜转转，平常7，8分钟就可以完成的路程居然磨了40分钟。

衣服穿得多，行李重，人不舒服，地铁闷热，下午两三点的路上到处都是人，再加上整个纽约又下雨，我心头无名火烧得再旺也被整个湿粘粘的状况给浇熄了。

接下来回家的路上，我连自己会在路上跌倒，整个行李大散架的惨况都已经预想好了。不过事情毕竟会有否极泰来的时候。 接下来的行程，一切都还算顺利。

打包 + stuffed eggplants

第一次做 stuffed eggplants。 google 到的食谱，不知道是哪国的style. 看似有模有样，其实这个茄子壳太硬了点。下次再弄这个餐，要记得先把茄子壳放进加了盐的水里把它煮软点。或者干脆不要放在烤箱里，直接炖好了。

饭后要打包回纽约咯。明早7点的飞机。半夜就要出门了。 放了这么长的假，接下去要更努力生活。。。。 加油加油！！

bavarian food

今天终于去了传说中游客必去的那个啤酒屋 (Hofbräuhaus)。

点了一公升的黑啤，一公升的苹果苏打，一个牛肉，一个猪肉，一共26欧多一点。 马克西给了五十，找回二十。 啤酒屋黑漆漆，到处都是客人喝高后的说嚷声。 英文在这屋里突然间变成了本地语言，好多美式口音啊～～
二楼鲜为人知。比起楼下的嘈杂，这里更显宁静祥和。好几个大房间里桌椅排列有序，布置着刀叉。偶尔服务员进出，看来在做一些私人派对的准备工作。

第一次的草莓酱

00035, originally uploaded by thepooler.

草莓酱。 做法原来超级简单。
4杯草莓 （切丁）＝ 差不多市面上一盒
1杯白糖 （我用半杯）
半颗柠檬
全搅在一起，然后以大火中火小火搅拌着熬啊熬。
12－13分钟就可以了。
尝了一口，还是很甜，下次少放点糖，草莓丁也要切小点。

马克西当场宣布，他以后再也不会去买果酱了。 其实他奶奶做了好多瓶果酱给他。他也没多在乎，放在橱柜里，有一搭没一搭地吃。 而我是识货之人啊，当发现有祖母级别的 homemade jam 时，我是抹一刀赞美一声。 到后来就想着念着自己也来做了。 前几天买了两盒草莓，结果还没来得及下锅，就被我们两个吃光了。今天信誓旦旦一定要做，才做成了。 马克西亲自参与了一下，心态整个就变了。 原来homemade的这么好啊～～

strawberry jam

看了一个小短篇，决定现在去做JAM。 没有柠檬，只有白糖和草莓，试试看咯～～

in Diessen

马克西姨婆邀请我们去看她。昨天一早出发去ammersee 坐船。码头上，包着尿片的小孩走路一步三摇地，超可爱。。。

昨天经过两个小时辗转坐车坐船到了一个叫 Diessen 的村镇。阳光很猛，我几乎是眯着眼睛走路的。


她早先在st. alban 的一个餐厅订下这一面对 ammersee（湖）的位子。下船之后，我们就直奔这里吃午饭了。老人家年纪一把，耳聪目明，相当的shrewd. 餐间提及她1941年起每逢周末就在这里扬帆了。
注：“ 阿默尔湖（Ammersee）是继基姆湖(Chiemsee)和施塔恩贝格湖（Starnberger See）之后的巴伐利亚州第三大湖泊，位于慕尼黑西南约30公里处。阿默尔湖位于阿尔卑斯山前地带，湖面海拔532.9米。南北长16.2千米，宽约5千 米，面积46.6平方公里。最深处为81.1米。阿默尔湖南接阿默河（Ammer Fluss），北接阿姆佩尔河（Amper Fluss）。

阿默尔湖正如其它阿尔卑斯山麓地区的湖泊一样，都是由冰川融化形成。约16000年前，该地区的冰川开始慢慢融化，最终形成了水域。这个形成过程非常缓 慢。由于注入阿默尔湖的河流带来的泥沙缓慢郁积，湖面正缓慢升高，水域逐渐缩小。据估计，阿默尔湖还可以存在20000年左右。

阿默尔湖区位于巴伐利亚著名的五湖区（Fünfseenland，得名于该地区的五个湖泊：Ammersee,Starnberger See, Wörthsee, Pilsensee和 Weßlinger See）。阿尔卑斯山脚下的阿默尔湖是巴伐利亚州最受欢迎的旅游景点之一，夏天的阿默尔湖会吸引大量外国游客前来游玩。“ －－－ 摘自慕尼黑 美丽的Ammersee 湖

远方阿尔卑斯山脉

dinner tonight

just came back from max's parents' house. we had a dinner there. as always, max's parents are kind. and his young brother is really nice, tall and cute... he is coming to the US for his college study this fall. um... has a very firm handshake. impressed.... :D

chili con carne

chili con carne, originally uploaded by thepooler.

汗颜哪汗颜， 马克西的厨艺日渐精湛，我的居然有退步之势。 昨天中午自告奋勇， 一个小时后折腾出一道自己都不想吃太多的饭菜。 晚上吃他做的墨西哥餐，边吃边想， 还是乖乖“他做饭，我洗碗“好了。 。。
今儿在附近一家超级市场里挖到一双太阳眼睛。3块半美金噢！不算太差吧。哈哈

bluefin tuna extinction

http://news.022china.com/2009/04-15/61737_0.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8098393.stm 推荐

有听说蓝鳍金枪鱼（蓝鳍吞拿 bluefin tuna) 被捕杀得很严重，今天在网上一看， 真的好严重啊。 有些网站甚至说再不采取有效措施，2012年内就会灭绝。

趁我还想写时，

00102, originally uploaded by thepooler.

赶紧把我在山上做什么写下来。。。。

其实，就和照片上看到的一样，我们每天就是吃喝拉撒睡，加看书，学习，然后出去散两个小时的步。 那里有电视， 收音，但没电脑，网络。

周五到达bad gastein 已经是晚上8点多了。 天不算很黑，但也得赶紧上山。 上次来时，我们是开车上山，山路几个弯转，就到了。但这次来之前， 我曾信誓旦旦，说要hiking. 所以当我发现有巴士上山，暗示马克西我们可以坐时，他一个NO就打发我了。 好吧，爬就爬，背着自己的行李，我们一爬就是一个小时。 到时，天都黑了。

饥肠漉漉之下， 我们随意做了点晚餐。 当然他又是主厨，我是副手。 注：不是我不愿做，实在是我英雄无用武之地。 连中餐他都是抢着做。他和他的众多朋友都有一个迷思，就是只要一放酱油，非洲菜都能立马变身为中餐。

因为resort在半山腰，所以周六时我们下山去买存粮。想想要走两个小时的山路，怪怕的。 就又提议坐车，又是不行，难得的机会爬山，在城里还没机会呢。我从来不觉得自己娇气，但和他在一起的时候， 我总有自己在被锻炼着的感觉。所以当我背着一包粮食上山时，我隐约明白了挑山工的生活。

一天就这么长。 马克西总是比我早起一两个小时， 他会抓紧这段黄金时间做他的事情。说黄金是因为我不会在他身边飘来飘去。

等我起床后， 两人开始吃个长长的早餐。 然后又是安静，他做事， 我看书，每隔45分钟1个小时休息一下。 直到下午3点多， 吃个很简单的午餐。 然后出去爬2个小时的山。回来，他再做一会儿事情，我看书。6点左右收工。

然后大解放。 看电视啊，德文的。 然后他做晚饭。 我洗碗。 看个影碟。 一天就过去了。

没有网络的诱惑， 我看书的进度快了不少。 干巴巴的东西都能被我啃掉一半。我上学时都没这么勤力。 如今回来一天。 我那本看了一半的书还没被我翻过。 这就是有网络和无网络的差别阿。阿门， 我的青春算是奉献给网络了。所以， 如果有一天，我没有在网络上出现一段时间， 大家要为我高兴，因为我终于做正事儿去了。

first pizza!

my first pizza!, originally uploaded by thepooler.

我的第一个比萨，也是马克西的第一个。 因为两人都是第一次弄， 所以两人老是抢着发面，抢着擀面。不过他哪有我强，我从小就在厨房里当妈妈的跟班。 虽然不是很会煮饭，但是对付他我是磋磋有余。但我是很有团队合作精神的， 所以两人分工得很好。 我切西红柿， 他就弄起士。最后出来的作品还算像模像样。

缺点：马克西擀的面太薄， 所以盛不住番茄的水分，切了以后，只能盛在盘子里，刀叉伺候。

吃到后来，马克西来了他那一套健康理论， 把比萨的边边留在了盘里，声称边边是淀粉，是糖份，对身体无益，不吃也罢。

。。。
照我说是浪费。忍不住，和他就健康生活论了起来。几句话下来，居然莫名其妙说到美国和德国政治上去了。 谈到布殊，再怎么辩都输。 一句，难到其他国家的人命比不上美国的利益吗？ 堵死。哎，每次说道美国的政治啊，环保啊，人文啊什么的，我总是说不过他，也是理亏。

到了最后，他还很温和地拉着我的手说， jiajia，要沉得住气啊。他的意思是， 就算别人怎么言语上攻击中国或是美国，身为子民，要做到荣辱不惊。 有能力辩就辩，不能辩也要保持风度。
$&$%#$#!!!!
等我回纽约，我就去买那些有关政治的解析书籍。 等我枪里上了子弹，再回来找你。

the worst run on last friday

00054, originally uploaded by thepooler.

We planned to stop by Sulzburg before heading to Bad Gastein last Friday. But no matter how we planned, things could go unexpected: Max forgot to buy train tickets earlier.

And he just realized it right before we headed out to catch our train. In another words, we needed extra time on the way to catch the train, and we might not be able to catch the train.

As he murmured, "we are not going to catch the train, we are not going to catch the train" on the way out, I assured him, "we still can if we can go a little faster. we can run."

For what I'd said, I paid a great price . It turned out to be the worst run ever in my life and I wouldn't want to experience it ever again! Train was about to leave in 4 minutes, and we had to run a distance of 2.5 trains long.

With a heavy backpack ib my back, there was no way I could run fast. After a few meters, I just couldn't lift my legs high enough to strike. I had to walk. But I had to run. my chest was in pain, my throat was sore. I felt I could collapse on the ground at any moments.

Eventually, we caught the train. but i was so unhappy about this rush. I was so determined at that moment that I will leave earlier for anywhere I am going in future!!!

00045

00045, originally uploaded by thepooler.
真可怜， 车子买了才两天， 就被我蹬坏了。 爬陡坡时不该换档，我不知道， 用力蹬车，换档，然后车链子就被我蹬崩了， 躺在地上扭得像条恶心的虫。

马克西对他自己气急败坏，说他该早点提醒我的， 就那么迟疑了几秒，就出事了。 那时我们正在去和马克西他爸爸会合的路上。

半路车坏了， 马克西建议我照样骑着， 他边骑自己的车， 边一手推我和车。 我一想，死活不答应。 振振有词地说， 我这辈子还没做过这种事呢， 这里车来车往的， 我要是重心不稳，不就摔了？ 马克西看我说得激动， 不由得点头说好，竟似很满意我对自己生命的珍惜?!

因为只带了一条锁链， 折衷的办法， 我们只好把两车都拴了， 两人走路。 结果迟到20分钟， 马克西爸爸等得差点打道回府了。

看完展览后回家， 我们又在琢磨怎么把丢在半路的车以最方便的方法弄回去， 结果咧， 嘿嘿， 我自打嘴巴，真的是乖乖骑着回去了。 就是让他边骑自己的车，边推我和车前行。 原来也不是那么危险。。。而且还蛮好玩的， 因为自己完全不用出力啊。

晚饭后， 马克西提议要下楼修车。 需要帮忙， 所以我也下了。 又因为工具不齐， 捣弄了一个多小时才弄好。 天都黑了。 到最后，双手乌糟，心里真是对自己很不爽， 怎么老是把自己弄得不男不女，就算老穿裙子也是成不了娇滴滴的淑女。 唉，这辈子看来真没这个命了。。。。
明天一早要出发去奥地利，周一回来。

00015

00015, originally uploaded by thepooler.

去了巴伐利亚博物馆。那里有个与中国有关的展览。看见博物馆外面斗大的三个字禄亲王，当时想， 谁啊？清朝哪个亲王和巴伐利亚有关系？ 结果进去一看， 展览大略讲述的是从明末清初开始，巴伐利亚与中国之间400年的交往。
原来禄亲王并不是什么满清亲王， 而是巴伐利亚最后一个皇帝的儿子Rupprechts 王子 的中国名谓。 展览甚至展出了慈禧的画，袁世凯送给他的清式盔甲，和十二生肖雕塑在内的圆明园图。

看这那些古色古香的东西， 我就想起我爷爷奶奶和他们那暗暗的木楼屋和里面的旧家具。 很想念他们。

草莓奶昔冰棒

00005, originally uploaded by thepooler.

买了一盒草莓， 全给马克西拿去弄奶昔了。赶紧弄了根草莓奶昔冰棒。成品后，拿到太阳底下狂呼，杰作呀！杰作！这是我弄过最像冰棒的冰棒了！！

00018

00018, originally uploaded by thepooler.

isn't this an interesting house? the point is along the same street, there are different styles of houses. i suspect that's some kind of mini hub for artists... or something. generally, the buildings on the same street in munich tend to have an unified style, not like these ...

this is from a nearby street. equipped with solar power system, right?

i made the soup

i made the soup, originally uploaded by thepooler.

i made this soup. since i came here, i have only made one serious meal, which was for max's friends. and this soup was for one day afternoon when both of us where hungry. it was just supper easy. i found the recipe online, and max has those so called asian style frozen vegetables. so i just add a tomato in it and then here comes this soup.

we had a dinner at max's parents' apartment two days ago. as always, they were nice. max's dad likes to talk. he likes to talk about everything. and max's mom is a very sweet lady too. but too bad i can't speak any german, and she can't speak much of English...max's younger brother is coming to the states to study this august. his school is not in new york, but i have invited him, so hopefully when he comes to visit new york this late summer, max can be around.

our bikes

our bikes, originally uploaded by thepooler.

biking in munich is truly a bliss. compared to the car friendly street design in new york, munich street seems to encourage more of bikers on the road.

max has thought about getting a bike for me since last year. yesterday, we finally got two from a second handed bike shop. 52 euro for two bikes above.

we initially took half hour train to get to the shop, but it only took us around 45 minutes to ride home. it's not bad at all. we ride bikes on bicycle path between the drive way and walk way, it's considerably safe. i really hope we can ride the bikes around in new york city, but it seems just un-doable. you either have to fight with passer-by for walk ways or with cars for drive ways...

now, we can just ride bikes to the city instead of getting there by train. how nice!

food

so the dinner was fine. easy cooking. i met another friend of max's. a nice guy seemingly.

we are going to max's parents' house for dinner tomorrow. i love his mom's food. last time max's dad asked me if i know any english word for food that "smells good." i couldn't think of any.

i asked one of my co worker later, she said, aromatic. it sounds so strange and distant to me....

rice wine

00003, originally uploaded by thepooler.

we went to a tiny chinese takeout food/grocery shop called Happy Food in the neighbourhood today, 7.99 euro (11.30 dollars) for a bottle of rice wine. it's a robbery!

but max thought it was okay as long as the money goes into the pocket of the lady who is the only person there doing the cooking and the selling. He thinks she is not making a lot of money but always seems happy whenever he is there ordering food. so he likes her. so it's okay with him that this lady makes that bloody 8 euro.

But it will not be okay he said, if this bottle of wine is selling the same price in those big supermarkets where they generally stock their inventory with much lower cost.....

when we were there in the afternoon. she was inside cooking, outside selling all the time. but she still spent sometimes with me to make sure that i had chosen the right ingredients for the food that i plan to make. she is a sweet lady. and her shop is really the kind of Chinese shop that is depicted in Hollywood movies, dark, shady, old and really 1900s....

sos

00024, originally uploaded by thepooler.

the past few days have been pretty exhausting, it's not saying that i had too much fun; instead it's about my crazy swinging mood. i somehow was just not satisfied with whatever that had presented to me. i was clumsy, lousy, easily irritated, and annoying! max suffered and got fed up at one point....

after a blow this afternoon, everything went back to normal again.

i understand every woman (i don't know about guys') has some kind of mood cycle. i just wish i can get by the fluctuation more smoothly... any ideas? :(

夏威夷三明治

pinapple sandwich, originally uploaded by thepooler.

Hawaii sandwich....
didn't do much today. max got up at 6am to finish his work; i woke up at the same time, had a big breakfast and went back to sleep right afterwards. got up at 11:30am and stayed in front of computer until 12:30pm and ran out to catch the train at 1pm to get to school.

came back and had a sandwich for lunch and continue surfing until NOW!!!

keyword: often and change

it seems like i have visited max so often that whenever i said that i was going to visit him, the reaction i generally received normally was, "again? didn't you just visit him?"

i thought so too. I thought i have visited him so often that i should cut back the number of visits i will pay to him in future. but i was wrong. it is not SO OFTEN. last time i visited him was exactly a year ago. Since last year, he is the one coming to visit me often. anyways, we see each other pretty often consider the long distant relationship we are having.

the point is, things have changed. a year ago, i almost turned myself into a housewife here; but now, at least by now, max's being doing the major cook and i only help with preparing vegetables; and he cooks well!



so when i saw the dinner he fixed last night, i was once again feeling the change! heihei~~

we went for a walk after dinner.

fixing bikes and rolling

, originally uploaded by thepooler.

max has two old bikes that need to be fixed. When he mentioned about fixing bikes, i immediately suggested that since I can't help much with fixing bikes, i would like to show him my rolling skills.

i assumed we would be just downstairs. but he said he would take me somewhere else; he always fixes his bikes there.

..... i think i am not creative enough to anticipate why there must be a specific place to fix bikes. it would be a lot of work: carrying my rollerblades, my gear, his tool box, and other equipments, food, water and then two old bikes; we can't even ride them; we had to push them to the destination.

It took us 15 minutes to walk under the sun to arrived at his secret bike fixing place. it was just the same park we went yesterday!!! Just a different location of the park where some benches sit along the path, and he can work while sitting on the bench, enjoying the breeze and getting his hand dirty.....


i was a bit of speechless, but the long path there made me really happy. there weren't too many people around, so when i practiced i don't need to be afraid that i will crash into someone.

so i was practising, an old man sat on another bench with his dog laying next to his feet watched me rolling. i rolled pass him, he didn't say a word, passed him the second time, third time, forth time... he got up and left.

later, i went back to max to check out how he was doing. He said that that gentleman came to talk to him about my skill....he said i should soften my knees, low my upper body and lean forward more when i roll...

.$$^&*)_(^&^$$#!.
i took his advice and i was much better. but i fell once.. on my pigu..

at the end, max couldn't fix bikes completely; inner tire and chain of one bike need to be changed. so we packed everything, shoes, gears, bikes, tool box, other equipments, food, water and went home.

。

Still waiting for the departure. One more hour to go... And people around me are having so much fun with their fried food! Food in max's apartment can be very plain if both of us are lazy to be creative..... I start to regret about not bringing any Chinese cooking materials. So far i havent found a chinese supermarket there yet. I need to seriously make max to google one out.

，

It has become a norm: whenever i am leaving home, we all become extra friendlier to one another. Less fight, less arguments, we all show the softest sides and play very gently. Haha
So i left flushing via long island railroad. Paying $5.25 to get to penn station within 20 minutes is so much better to spend 1 and half hour taking subway. After arriving penn station, i took NJ transit to get to newark airport.
Max had called to urge me to be at the airport 2 hours earlier, and I ended up in the airport 4 hour ealier!! Well, not too bad, given that I have so much snacks (bell pepper, sweet potato, apple, and etc) and an internet accessble cellphone, i can just kill my time like that. Ai... I am too good at killing my time while acheving little... But anyways, i have a bold project after i come back, so i am going to enjoy my time right now....

。

Leaving for munich tomorrow. Havent started packing. Trying to think hard about what i can bring to max for his bday, and for his parents, and his great aunt... I basically havent prepared anything... What should i do....

。

For the first time, i realize the inconvenience of not having a car. I will take driving courses after i come back.

，

Was rolling in the park after work. As i was gearing myself up, a korean old man sitting next to me started to talk to me. Mostly was encouraging me. Very sweet of him.
so i am rollerblading now... Enjoy the summer

ling's bday

ling's bday, originally uploaded by thepooler.

before i got out today, i checked the weather. the forecast said it would start to rain at 3pm and would continue into late at night. i took out my black rain boots. My dad said, "it's sunny outside." and I said, "it will rain soon." Although I told my dad so, I don't really believe it much . Every time i pull my rain boots up, the rain will either stop very quickly or just never come! but i still convinced myself to wear them; who knows if it is really going to rain. It turned out that the rain indeed came but just to wet the ground! And i got stuck in my large rain boots for the entire afternoon.

Despite of that, ling and I had a very nice walk in Chinatown. I didn't know there were so many interesting shops in her neighbourhood.

in the midst of our window shopping, we stopped at a mini cafe which tucks its half in the ground and juts out another half from the ground. Ling asked for a cup of espresso. I got my chicken vegi soup, not that tasty. but the owner's sweet attitude made up for everything.
yay, both of us had a great day hanging out.

img_2470

img_2470, originally uploaded by thepooler.

it's said that we are going to have a rainy day tomorrow. how nice. there hasn't been much rain this winter. the season is long, dry and tedious. can't wait to be in spring.

back

hi people, i am back. so things didn't go so well. but we are not in the worst situation, so i need to do something to make it up. i will tell you in details in my email if you want to know more about it.

wenzhou has changed so much; i had to ask for direction almost every single time i was out. friends were extremely sweet as if the ten years was just in a blink of an eye; as if we were still a bunch of graduates who just left our school. we stayed up the whole night in a hotel room playing pokers and mahjong before i got myself together and head to the airport. we were just so wild.

but i am also glad that i am back; so many things are waiting for me ahead; i feel energetic.

guangzhou

hi people, this is my 5th day in guangzhou, tomorrow is going to be my brother's big day. i am very anxious.... i hope i can sleep tonight. everything is going well so far. this is the first time i saw my brother since i left China 9 years ago. very very exciting. we fought all the way through our childhood and adolescence. and now, we are just so nice to each other... i will stay in guangzhou for a few days more, and after that, i will head back to my hometown. and i hope i can get online more often by then.

packing and booking a hotel

i think our holidays are deliver guys' torture days. they have to work from morning until night to deliver the packages to numerous crazy online shoppers, like me.

i bought some gifts from macy's more than two weeks ago, and it finally arrived today. i was thinking of other possible alternatives if the deliver guy failed to show up tonight; i might just go to the local macy's to buy another sets of gifts and then return whatever i ordered online once i get back from the trip. but after few days of delay, the deliver guy showed up and dropped off my package, which was signed by a stranger... and the package was open but nothing was missing. my friend spotted the package when she went out to dump her garbage and called me. i was lucky, i couldn't imagine what would happen to my package if it's left outside for a night. anyone could just take it.

anyway, so i don't need to go for a last shopping. and I finally finish packing, well, almost.

I also booked a hotel in guangzhou online. i searched for the hotel's phone number for a couple nights, and surprisingly, i couldn't find any. finally, i found something i thought it would be the number, and as i called, a lady with a sweet voice answered my phone. an agent, i supposed. I requested for the hotel's direct phone number, so i can contact that hotel and booked a room. But she said the phone # was not to disclose.... Can you imagine that? You want to live in that hotel for a week and you are not allowed to get in touch with that hotel prior to your check-in. Time pressed me, so i gave up and booked a room through her. she sounded sweet, and i tried to tell myself that everything would be okay; i just booked a room, i didn't give out my personal identification, i didn't disclose any sensitive information, i should be fine. the worst case is that i arrive in the hotel and try to check in and find that i have no reservation, and i am asked to book a room with doubled price, or leave. if that is the case, i will be happy to leave.

I am cleaning my room.

Thanks Diana for the pictures posting on your blog. I took some of them and add to my online album, so I can have a piece of memory of that night as well.

Leon was and is a big "!". An adorable handsome smart and good tempered boy, Amy, you and Tom are amazing!

Today is Sunday, so I am cleaning my room. Two days before leaving for China, I decided to clean my room so my sister can have my room after I leave.

I've been cleaning it so slowly because I am taking a million breaks. I've had some food, gone online for a while, talked to Max for a little bit, read some letters that i found under my bed; some of them were written by me but for some reasons never sent out; some of them were written by my cousins and you, my friends. Among those letters, there was one birthday card with some Korean words on it, signed by Jen. I tried to figure out who Jen was and I still have no clue...there were also some post cards sent by Winnie and EY from Italy and France. One of them had mini black and white pictures of EY and Winnie on it. Those treasured memories, happy moments...

I don't know why my life has become so plain in recent years. This is never my intended life... Sign, I hope my life will become a little bit more colorful after I return from China.

Oh, by the way, what are your new year resolutions? Mine was to stop procrastinating. So to fulfil this resolution, now, I need to leave to continue cleaning my room. Sucks. I don't like to clean rooms.

planning a trip and others

Nothing much has happened recently except being busy to prepare for the trip to China. At first, ideally, i want to go back with Max, hoping we can go there together in early March. But the reality doesn't allow me to have that ideal perfect trip. so i am leaving for China alone.

Max went with his family and his family friends to Bad Gastein in Austria for their annual skiing. I went with them last winter, and the most impressive thing I had done when i was there was to crashed onto a car during skiing, and left that family of 5 (mom, dad, and kids) in the car completely speechless. Although later they found their words, I had no idea what they were saying; they spoke Italian. Luckily, I wasn't beaten up because of this. But Max decided to ground me from going for skiing the next day. He said, I should not go skiing until I get my health insurance!!!