January 31, 2005 'Problem of the Week'
Let's end this month's daily spectacularly. How? By introducing Paul Sorokin's ultimate school-wide, self-proclaimed 'Problem of the Week'. Have a look.
Given the difficulty of this code, [he has] increased the reward. One pound of chocolate or a dozen oranges for the first correct cleartext.
Oh well.. we'll discover who gets the chocolate or oranges soon.
January 30, 2005
Just as speculated, I spent the whole afternoon finishing my history paper. Now, with an aching headache, I have to prepare for tmr's math test. Good nite.
January 29, 2005 Hingis' Possible Comeback
Oh my heavens! Martina Hingis is possibly coming back! She's now in Thailand and shall compete, for charity interests, in the Volvo Open 2005, which starts tmr. If she feels well, both mentally and physically, she might rejoin the WTA tour. Go! Show the world that you can do it!
Played some good tennis with jeff in the afternoon. I'll be really busy tmr - busy writing my 3-page history paper.
January 28, 2005 College
It's about time. Had our first college counseling meeting today and were introduced to the process. Better get a good grip of it - a good start is half success, ya?
Just now, while watching the Australian Open ladies final live, Mr. Farrar kicked all the juniors out.. Sigh.. This is precisely the first time I feel a desire of becoming a senior.
BG Music - 喜歡戀愛 New song. Introducing, once again from 陳輝陽's cd, Candy's 喜歡戀愛 piano version. Enjoy.
January 27, 2005 Homeless Shelter "Better late than never."
Went to a homeless shelter in Waterbury with Ms. Phelan and Neal this evening. Honestly, after taking a glimpse at the food we're offering/donating/serving, my appetite plummeted. Yet, those homeless people were almost fighting for them.. Sigh.. I'm just pampered too much..
Rewrote this page's introduction. The one before is too unoriginal.. Indeed, let's make life meaningful, from this very moment.
January 26, 2005 幸福 II
Nothing much today. Had some interesting messaging about 'rumors' during studyhall; and now I have to burn midnight oil again.. Anyway, let's continue with 幸福:
幸福 II
一直以為幸福在遠方，在可以追逐的未來。
我的雙眼保持著眺望，我的雙耳仔細聆聽，
唯恐疏忽錯過。
後來才發現，
那些握過的手，唱過的歌，
流過的淚，愛過的人...
所謂的曾經，就是幸福。
Often times, we try too hard to find 幸福, not realizing that we already have it. But of course, men's desire can never be fulfilled or satisfied. We just want more, don't we?
"幸福又怎可..勉強..."
January 25, 2005 幸福 I
Today, during lunch, I asked Wilson, "What is the english of 幸福?" Well, both of us couldn't think of it. Can you? Perhaps there's no 幸福 in english afterall? Yet, what is 幸福 anyway?
幸福 I
幸福，就如散撒滿一地的玻璃碎。
有些人拾得多，有些人拾得少。
有些人拾得多了，握得緊了，
反被割傷，
結果只好鬆手，
讓碎再撒滿一地。
有些人拾得少，卻巳滿足，
不再冒險執拾，也就避免了傷害。
More on 幸福 tmr. Good nite.
January 24, 2005
Remember what I promised? Probably not.. Well, I said that I would post how Vittoria responded to Robert's question: do you believe in God? So, here you go:
Robert, Vittoria, aboard X33 towards Rome Robert: As a scientist and the daughter of a Catholc priest, what do you think of religion? Vittoria: Religion is like language or dress. We gravitate toward the practices with which we were raised. In the end, though, we are all proclaiming the same thing. That life has a meaning. That we are greatful for the power that created us. R: So you're saying that whether you are a Christian or a Muslim simply depends on where you were born? V: Isn't it obvious? Look at the diffusion of religion around the globe. R: So faith is random? V: Hardly. Faith is universal. Our specific methods for understanding it is arbitrary. Some of us pray to Jesus, some of us go to Mecca, some of us study sub-atomic particles. In the end we are all just searching for truth, which is greater than ourselves. R: And God? Do you believe in God? V: Science tells me God must exist. My mind tells me I will never understand God. And my heart tells me I am not meant to. ...
I'm still amazed by such a concise response. Heck, if I could express myself so clearly, perhaps I wouldn't have to endure this bitter night.
January 23, 2005 Formal '05 - 007 Theme
5 hours. $60 dollars. Worth it? Not really.. It was quite fun, but not very fun. The food was just so-so, in fact, quite similar to our dining hall's special dinner ones.. And after 'dancing' among the excited crowd in the ballroom, I was ascertained that I'm not that type of person.. Well, I guess the wild side of me did expose during the 'dance'.. and at least I was able to abreact my anguish and pressure from school work. Also, the chocolate fondu fountain was pretty cool; so were the magicians. Finally, many thanks to Wilson who industriously took pictures of random people.. I'm actually yearning for more now.
Justin, me, Lee and Wilson, right before we left (around 11:45). We all look exhausted..January 22, 2005 Shed a Little Light!
Today, I finally experienced the infamous SAT. Surely, I was humbled by it. A few people shouted "It's so easy!" after the second english section, while I was still skeptically filling the bubbles. But it's okay. This is only the first of many ones that are coming..
Extremely ironically, the word scintillate appeared in the test.. For God's sake, I didn't know that word! Then while I was routinely surfing for new wallpapers this afternoon, it was engraved on one of them, scintillating itself, gleamingly taunting my blunder. I'll never forget this word, nor will I forgive it. And for commemorative reasons, I'm sharing the wallpaper.
BG Music - Shed a Little Light Time for a new song, I guess. Introducing Shed a Little Light live version by James Taylor. It's also a greatly popularized song here..of course, promoted by the impeccable Collegium. Indeed, "Shed a little light, oh Lord! So that we can see!"
January 21, 2005
Alas! It's tomorrow! May God guide my way!
Speaking of God, do I believe in God? Well, I believe that God is not a creature; it's a spirit that lies within us, that flows in our blood veins. Therefore, to believe in God means that you believe in yourself. Whether it's God, Buddah, Allah or whatever or whoever you worship, it's just a way we choose to understand the inexplicable, and explain the unexplainable. There is something Vittoria (in Angels and Demons) said when asked if she believes in God. It was almost the perfect answer to such question. I promise that I'll post it out..after tmr's 3-hour torture.
Just in case you feel stirred up by what I mentioned, I sincerely recommend to you Angels and Demons. Afterall, I finished it within three days.
January 20, 2005
Again, SAT on saturday. Quite stressful indeed. Anyway, I have to post this..it fits too well..
Came across another photo management program called Picasa. It definitely rivals with Photoshop Album. Besides its extremely cool 'timeline' feature, there is one thing PA can't beat: it's free. Get it here.
Two more days till my first SAT test. Godspeed.
January 18, 2005 Ambigrams
What are ambigrams? 'Ambi' means 'bi', same as 'amphi' as in amphibian. 'Gram', besides being used as a measurement of weight, means picture. Therefore, 'ambigram' basically means double picture. It can be a word or picture that reads the same or something entirely different when flipped across its horizontal or vertical symmetry. Well, let's see an example (hover it to see its other appearance):
Quite unnerving, right? Yes, it was the same for me when I first saw it.
It was freezing today. Conjecture is that the temperature will drop to -18C tonight. God bless the homeless ones..
One more thing: Steven's grandpa passed away peacefully yesterday @7.01am. Well, that would unveal something, perhaps. Or are you really that ignorant?
January 17, 2005 "It is life near the bone where it is sweetest."
Tired after finishing my 3-page essay for english. Good nite.
January 16, 2005 Angels and Demons Angels and Demons, another great book by Dan Brown. To some extent, it's even more breathtaking than davinci code.. Yet, I won't say much here - it might ruin your appetite in case you decided to read it..
So, my entire afternoon was dedicated to Mr. Spencer's ordaination. He's now officially a priest. Well then, what was he before? I just can't think of any titles for a pre-priest.
MLK day tmr. No classes. However, we do have to wake up early for a special assembly. And collegium has to perform, too. It'll be fun.
January 15, 2005 Philosophy and Love
In english class today, we discussed about philosophy. What is philsophy anyway? Let's break it down. 'Philo' is a Greek word for 'love'. But actually, there are four kinds of love in ancient Greek. We'll get into that later. 'Sophy' - anyone who read the davinci code would know that it's a Greek word for 'wisdom'. Therefore, gluing them together gives 'love wisdom', or strictly speaking, the 'study of the principles of existence behavior and knowledge'.
As I mentioned above, the Greeks had four kinds of love:
The four loves in Greek eros - lustily love; i.e. erotic mentor - admiration, look up to philos - brotherly love agape -unconditional love
Surprised? I must admit I was.. As S.Le said, "Think twice when you say 'I love ice cream'; do you really love it?" Well, I do.
January 14, 2005
同Steven傾電話時, 竟無意被佢一針見血地講中.."做人唔使介意人地點睇"...唉..
Finally decided in my term paper topic. What is it? For private reasons, I'll reveal it later.
BG Music - 失戀太少 Introducing Eason's 失戀太少 Piano Version. Something even quieter. Well, enjoy the euphony..
January 13, 2005
Sigh.. Went to measure tuxedo lengths today after dinner. Honestly, I still have no idea why I decided to go to formal this year. Peer pressure? No, I've never quite give into that. Let's make it because I wanna experience something different.
Don't tell me how boring my dailys have been..I know it. There are no pictures, no color, and basically no change. Everyday seems to be an iteration of the day before. Why? Because life here is boring and colorless. Perhaps, as I mentioned about Mr. H in english today, I myself is "attempting to break away from something?"
January 12, 2005 Pluralism "No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won't make you cry."
Had our first volunteering meeting today. Besides talking about MLK's letter, d'Ecrizans (what kind of last name is that?!) the faculty-in-charge brought up a very interesting and valid point: he said that the world (especially America) nowadays is too polarized. We are forced to choose, or actually, follow a position. Simply put, it's either this or that. Pluralism would help, by offering more choices.
About ten mins after the meeting, a fire drill took place. Perhaps due to the icy winds, my eyes became quite dry. Suddenly, my left eye's contact dropped out, and disappeared. Well..I guess my glasses will be with me for a while, until some new, airborne contacts arrive..
Yes, yes, also played some tennis with jeff today. Quite well, quite well indeed.
January 11, 2005 "That's really smart.."
Don't worry, the above quote is just to remind myself of what happened today (specifically, in math class..). Anyway, not much happened today. Snow began to fall again, and fortunately, volunteering was canceled because of that.
Meanwhile, Apple released its Mac mini + iPod shuffle today. Not too interested in either..
January 10, 2005
"離去, 是為了回來." Bouts of nostalgia - how will I overcome the coming 59 days? Undulation of emotions - how should I handle such tough decisions?
I hate mondays. Well..it's because of the same old reason: every classes meet. But perhaps it's good in some way. When we make mistakes, we can give the excuse of "it's monday.." Wait wait wait, when have I become so prone to evading responsibilities??
January 9, 2005
Microsoft released a beta for its first-ever anti-spyware program. Well, it's purchased from another company, to be precise. The interface looks clean and nice, and it's also said to be more incisive than spybot and adaware. Anyhow, it's worth a try, ya?
Get it here.January 8, 2005 Yawn..
It was a tiring day.. Actually, it wasn't really one. Classes were quite easy today. Then why am I tired? Can I still say that I have jetlag? You know, it seems that I feel sleepy at every moment. Just now I had a lite sleep from 8-10. Well, hope that I can still slumber tonight.
Wilson Justin and I had our first order-out of the year tonight. Where is Steven? He claims that he has a fever and is now still in hk. Good trick - for gaining a few more days of holiday, and of course, staying in hk.
January 7, 2005
Had the first lab of the year in physics lesson today. Simple harmonic motion. I suspect it's studied by most of you.. So not much about it is needed, ya? Anyway, let's get a new song going.
BG Music - 遇見 Introducing Yanzi's 遇見. Yes, I know it's an old one, but good songs last forever, right?
January 6, 2005
First-snow: it's tonight. Will I go? Well, consider the type of person I am, plus what you know about me, answer it yourself.
First-snow Invitation We cordially invite all of you to a fun filled all school snow fight where big guys take on big guys and small guys take on small guys, and we all sit around and watch hot girls beat the crap out of each other. The fun begins at 9 45 across the pond on the intro soccer field. All weapons must be dull.
Meanwhile, it seems that Sony is eager in presenting new gadgets in 2005. Several new Vaios are introduced in CES, including the low-profile Y-type (why-type?) and the F-type, where I'm most interested in the latter. You may read about it here.
January 5, 2005
It began to snow this morning. Yet, there was no first-snow since the accumulation wasn't sufficient for snow ball fights..
Still suffering from jetlag. Goodnite.
January 4, 2005
First day of classes today. Mr. Le (yes, only one e) is my new english teacher, well..he seems to be fine, quite nice. Mooney teaching physics again, and I was quite stunned when I received his own published textbook. And I honestly asked, "Are you gonna sign it?" when he handed it to me. Anyway, this term seems to be fine till now, except, of course, my nostalgic depression.
January 3, 2005 Alone
I stood in the rain, with my head tilted down, my eyes closed. Noises of laughter, chitchats, dog's barks inscribed into my mind, but what I seeked was silence; just a moment of silence to let my memories flow. Silence came, and my memories came too, and went. A drop of tear slid down my face.
I'm alone again.
January 2, 2005 Goodbye
It's difficult to say goodbye. My brother lingered in my room before he slept, not knowing what he should say when I was packing. Yet, I can tell for sure that he will embrace me in tears tmr before he leaves for school.. As for me, well..it's bitter enough to leave my family and friends, not to mention the city I love so much. I only hope that I won't feel as bad as last year's return, which was quite depressing. Okay..I shall ramble no more.
Goodbye.January 1, 2005 Happy New Year!
In start of a new year, I want to give myself two challenges. First, I hope to see a more sophisticated writing style here. Instead of giving brief recounts of what I did, I want to write on specific topics; in fact, any topic. The second thing is more obvious - I hope to motivate myself to read more, because reading proficiently is the first step to writing articulately.
BG Music - Time to Say Goodbye Introducing a duet sang by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli. It is indeed, time to say goodbye. Guys, add oil in preparing for the CE, and I'll see you soon.
A year-end recount of 2004, namely my 'Time Funnel '04', can be viewed here.
)
