Days that make us happy, make us wise.: April 2009

Thursday, April 23, 2009

I read this passage today and like it soooo much~~~

If time, that rare resource, becomes plentiful, travel just might be the way to go.

I travel to live, live to travel, and support the habit by juggling real estate. Which is to say, I'm a constant subletter. I defray the cost of my wanderlust by renting my tiny apartments in New York and Hong Kong for short periods while I go on the road. By now, I'm an old hand at showing my living spaces to strangers, and on a recent Saturday morning, the software engineer from San Francisco was getting the A-1 guided tour of my Hong Kong flat. "Here is the bedroom," I said, following my well-worn script. "When you read in bed you can look out the window and see the International Financial Center, Hong Kong's tallest building. Through the dining nook there's a fabulous open view of the Central Police Station, built by the British in 1864 and one of the last standing historical buildings in downtown." Eric the engineer nodded absently. He seemed lost in thought. Worried that I was blabbing too much, I breezily changed the subject.

"So, then, what brings you to Hong Kong for a whole month? Are you on a work assignment?"
"No," he said, managing a chuckle. "I'm on a work nonassignment. My company isn't doing too well, and they've asked me and everyone else in the Shanghai office to take a month's unpaid leave. I hope it is just going to be for a month."

We fell silent as the specter of job loss loomed over our conversation like a shadow, as it does too often these days. But then my prospective tenant recovered, and continued, upbeat.
"You see, I've always wanted to get to know Hong Kong. My parents are originally from Toisan, in Guangdong Province, just across the border from here in China. I've never had an unexpected break of time like this before, so I thought I would take advantage of it to really settle into this city and get to know it. This is the kind of travel I always wanted to do."

It took his words a moment to really sink in, and when they did, they cut straight to my heart. Here was a guy uncertain about his future, about to take an enforced leave. Was he going to spend a month at home, polishing his résumé, pinching his pennies, and fretting? No. He'd decided to forget about what he was losing and grab the gift he'd been given: time. And use that gift in the best way possible: travel.

The Chinese newspapers call the economic crisis the financial "tsunami," a word that translates poetically, as so many Chinese words do, as "ocean scream." My own personal oceans have screamed often and loudly during my peripatetic life. But when the hardest waves hit, my response has always been the same: hit back, and hit the road.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Randy

Today,during the English class, the teacher showed us a video . It was soooooo touching that my tears kept falling down like a stream. I watched the complete version of it after I got back to the dorm and was inspired.

The sentence that left me the deepest impresion was:Brick walls are there for a reason, they let us prove how badly we want things, it is there to stop others who don't want that thing so badly, not us!

Therefore, I will keep my dreams and fight for it!!!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

discover the Discovery Bay

Discovery Bay----A place that I always want to pay a visit, I made it today~~~~

The lovely houses are my dream style.

On the hiking route, there is only one person---me!!!A different experience~~~~

On the top of the mountain, a golf club appeared in front of my eyes, some little boys(???)are playing golf!!! I had a short nap under the shadow of a huge tree until the stuff took me out......

The stuff took me to the highway and showed me the way, I thought it couldn't take long to walk back,but I was totally wrong!!! I am still admiring myself for walking that long time, good excrice, haha~~~

Finally walk back to downtown, I spent some time in Mac, writing, painting, reading.......Two Japanese ladies were sitting next to me, talking, really want to learn japanese!