One night I asked my friend for help. After a long discussion, there is no solution. He promised to take a look on the cause of the problem. However, when I met him, he had something to do and chit chat around. After a while, he disappeared. Oh no! He left me alone?! It sounds like his promise go in vain. Promise becomes just some soothing words.
Many friends and colleagues said that things always change. Our power is limited, many things are not under control. It is a promise today but may not be kept tomorrow. Why make such promise? What is promise?
Promise can be for others and also for ourselves. It appears before action. Before making promise, we always evaluate the feasibility. Nobody can be 100% sure before he makes promise. If it happens, why we need to make promise? From this point of view, promise is a clear declaration of will, to make something happen. It is expected to be a process of creation. It is what we want. We can have satisfaction, achievement when promise is kept. It gives us the feeling of safety. If we observe our society with our heart, we can find promises everywhere.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Cloudy Day
German: Guten Morgen.
English: Good morning.
German: Hallo. Es ist ein bewölkter Tag, nicht wahr?
English: Hello. It is a cloudy day, isn't it?
English: Good morning.
German: Hallo. Es ist ein bewölkter Tag, nicht wahr?
English: Hello. It is a cloudy day, isn't it?
Friday, August 17, 2007
Father and Son
Promise is a promise. He promised his son to join marathon together even his son cannot walk. They run together. They swim together. They ride together. Never leave him alone. Never let his son feel handicapped. They create power together. They inspire other people together.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
FW:Facts you should know about men
1. Men like to barbecue. Men will cook if danger is involved.
2. Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.
3. Marrying a divorced man is ecologically responsible. In a world where there are more women than men, it pays to recycle.
4. Men are very confident people. My husband is so confident that when he watches sports on television, he thinks that if he concentrates he can help his team. If the team is in trouble, he coaches the players from our living room, and if they're really in trouble, I have to get off the phone in case they call him.
5. Men like phones with lots of buttons. It makes them feel important.
6. Men love to be the first to read the newspaper in the morning. Not being the first is upsetting to their psyches.
7. All men are afraid of eyelash curlers. I sleep with one under my pillow, instead of a gun.
8. A good place to meet a man is at the dry cleaner. These men usually have jobs and bathe.
9. All men hate to hear "We need to talk about our relationship." These seven words strike fear in the heart of even General Schwarzkopf.
10. Men are sensitive in strange ways. If a man has built a fire and the last log does not burn, he will take it personally.
11. Men have an easier time buying bathing suits. Women have two types: depressing and more depressing. Men have two types: nerdy and not nerdy.
12. Men have higher body temperatures than women. If your heating goes out in winter, I recommend sleeping next to a man. Men are like portable heaters that snore.
13. Women take clothing much more seriously than men. I've never seen a man walk into a party and say "Oh, my God, I'm so embarrassed; get me out of here. There's another man wearing a black tuxedo."
14. Most men hate to shop. That's why the men's department is usually on the first floor of a department store, two inches from the door.
15. If a man prepares dinner for you and the salad contains three or more types of lettuce, he is serious.
16. If you're dating a man who you think might be "Mr. Right," if he a) got older, b) got a new job, or c) visited a psychiatrist, you are in for a nasty surprise. The cocoon-to-butterfly theory only works on cocoons and butterflies.
17. No man is charming all of the time. Even Cary Grant is on record saying he wished he could be Cary Grant.
18. When four or more men get together, they talk about sports.
19. When four or more women get together, they talk about men.
20. Men are less sentimental than women. No man has ever seen the movie THE WAY WE WERE twice, voluntarily.
21. Most women are introspective: "Am I in love? Am I emotionally and creatively fulfilled?" Most men are outrospective: "Did my team win? How's my car?"
22. If a man says, "I'll call you," and he doesn't, he didn't forget... he didn't lose your number... he didn't die. He just didn't want to call you.
23. Getting rid of a man without hurting his masculinity is a problem. "Get out" and "I never want to see you again" might sound like a challenge. If you want to get rid of a man, I suggest saying, "I love you... I want to marry you... I want to have your children." Sometimes they leave skid marks.
24. Men are self-confident because they grow up identifying with super-heroes. Women have bad self-images because they grow up identifying with Barbie.
25. Male menopause is a lot more fun than female menopause. With female menopause you gain weight and get hot flashes. Male menopause - you get to date young girls and drive motorcycles.
26. Men forget everything; women remember everything.
27. That's why men need instant replays in sports. They've already forgotten what happened
2. Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.
3. Marrying a divorced man is ecologically responsible. In a world where there are more women than men, it pays to recycle.
4. Men are very confident people. My husband is so confident that when he watches sports on television, he thinks that if he concentrates he can help his team. If the team is in trouble, he coaches the players from our living room, and if they're really in trouble, I have to get off the phone in case they call him.
5. Men like phones with lots of buttons. It makes them feel important.
6. Men love to be the first to read the newspaper in the morning. Not being the first is upsetting to their psyches.
7. All men are afraid of eyelash curlers. I sleep with one under my pillow, instead of a gun.
8. A good place to meet a man is at the dry cleaner. These men usually have jobs and bathe.
9. All men hate to hear "We need to talk about our relationship." These seven words strike fear in the heart of even General Schwarzkopf.
10. Men are sensitive in strange ways. If a man has built a fire and the last log does not burn, he will take it personally.
11. Men have an easier time buying bathing suits. Women have two types: depressing and more depressing. Men have two types: nerdy and not nerdy.
12. Men have higher body temperatures than women. If your heating goes out in winter, I recommend sleeping next to a man. Men are like portable heaters that snore.
13. Women take clothing much more seriously than men. I've never seen a man walk into a party and say "Oh, my God, I'm so embarrassed; get me out of here. There's another man wearing a black tuxedo."
14. Most men hate to shop. That's why the men's department is usually on the first floor of a department store, two inches from the door.
15. If a man prepares dinner for you and the salad contains three or more types of lettuce, he is serious.
16. If you're dating a man who you think might be "Mr. Right," if he a) got older, b) got a new job, or c) visited a psychiatrist, you are in for a nasty surprise. The cocoon-to-butterfly theory only works on cocoons and butterflies.
17. No man is charming all of the time. Even Cary Grant is on record saying he wished he could be Cary Grant.
18. When four or more men get together, they talk about sports.
19. When four or more women get together, they talk about men.
20. Men are less sentimental than women. No man has ever seen the movie THE WAY WE WERE twice, voluntarily.
21. Most women are introspective: "Am I in love? Am I emotionally and creatively fulfilled?" Most men are outrospective: "Did my team win? How's my car?"
22. If a man says, "I'll call you," and he doesn't, he didn't forget... he didn't lose your number... he didn't die. He just didn't want to call you.
23. Getting rid of a man without hurting his masculinity is a problem. "Get out" and "I never want to see you again" might sound like a challenge. If you want to get rid of a man, I suggest saying, "I love you... I want to marry you... I want to have your children." Sometimes they leave skid marks.
24. Men are self-confident because they grow up identifying with super-heroes. Women have bad self-images because they grow up identifying with Barbie.
25. Male menopause is a lot more fun than female menopause. With female menopause you gain weight and get hot flashes. Male menopause - you get to date young girls and drive motorcycles.
26. Men forget everything; women remember everything.
27. That's why men need instant replays in sports. They've already forgotten what happened
Learn putonghua well
I had a coffee and a chat with friends. We were talking about his boss who is not keen in his career and just focus on the stock market. My friend, as a lazy subordinate, go to study putonghua suddenly. He kept asking me how to learn it well. The most critical problem is that he does not know to how to read it correctly.
In fact, when we learn any language, we still follow the old rules. Listen more, speak more and write more. It is lucky that the official written form of our mother language is same as the one of putonghua. We should save effort on it compared with the foreigners. However, there had been some foreign professors who can teach us Chinese culture in fluent putonghua. Their putonghua level is much higher than ours.
In order to speak putonghua well, we must go back to the written form as the starting point. The second step is to solve the reading problem. Of course, dictionary can save us. Besides that it can help us if we use pinyin input method to enter Chinese characters. It can keep to train myself when I do not speak in putonghua. However, the pronunciation cannot be kept because it is not strictly required in the input method. Thus it is better to keep reading it.
The third step is to listen more. For example, CCTV, they speak in Beijing version of putonghua which is the base reference of the official putonghua. At the same time, we can learn the vocabularies. It is similar to listen BBC news to learn English. Both agencies have high standard on pronunciation and word choosing. Remember that we have different vocabulary set even though we write Chinese characters. For example, hotel (酒店 vs 飯店),mobile phone (移動電話 vs 流動電話), taxi (公共汽車 vs 出租車).
In fact, when we learn any language, we still follow the old rules. Listen more, speak more and write more. It is lucky that the official written form of our mother language is same as the one of putonghua. We should save effort on it compared with the foreigners. However, there had been some foreign professors who can teach us Chinese culture in fluent putonghua. Their putonghua level is much higher than ours.
In order to speak putonghua well, we must go back to the written form as the starting point. The second step is to solve the reading problem. Of course, dictionary can save us. Besides that it can help us if we use pinyin input method to enter Chinese characters. It can keep to train myself when I do not speak in putonghua. However, the pronunciation cannot be kept because it is not strictly required in the input method. Thus it is better to keep reading it.
The third step is to listen more. For example, CCTV, they speak in Beijing version of putonghua which is the base reference of the official putonghua. At the same time, we can learn the vocabularies. It is similar to listen BBC news to learn English. Both agencies have high standard on pronunciation and word choosing. Remember that we have different vocabulary set even though we write Chinese characters. For example, hotel (酒店 vs 飯店),mobile phone (移動電話 vs 流動電話), taxi (公共汽車 vs 出租車).
coffee again
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee...
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar
represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--- your family, your health, your
friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad! you asked.
It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
Please share this with someone you care about.. I JUST DID.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar
represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--- your family, your health, your
friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad! you asked.
It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
Please share this with someone you care about.. I JUST DID.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)