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9.1.05
Me and New Orleans: Water won't wash away the spirit of the Big Easy I went to visit the city of New Orleans in the spring break of 2001. The city is also known as the "Big Easy", famous for its French architecture, jazz, Mardi Gras, and Cajun food. Once colony of France, the Big Easy is also widely agreed as the most European city in the United States. New Orleans is about seven hours from Austin. It wasn't a very long drive. The scenery and the atmosphere of New Orleans definitely made the road more worth travel. The above picture was taken near Bourbon Street. (Originally planned to be used for writing a webpage for my visit, but later the idea was dismissed) Bourbon Street is where the abundance of clubs and bars are located at. The birth place of the modern Mardi Gras festival, which takes place every February. Jazz is the theme of the town. It was heard almost everywhere. What makes New Orleans more unique is that the French Quarter, composed of mostly French style houses and gardens, is also once the residence of famous vampire story writer Anne Rice. Not very far from the Bourbon Street, lies the old Mississippi River. The river bank is a most-see for tourists. Some (like me) would take a three-hour boat ride to travel up the river to sight-see both sides of the river, along with a commentary of the history of this river. Of course, there was jazz entertainment on the boat for people who don't enjoy the scenery and history. Unfortunately, most of downtown New Orleans is under the sea level. It is located between Lake Ponchatrain and the Mississippi River. Lake water flooded most of the city after Hurricane Katrina made land fall. I'm sure the buildings you see in the above picture was under water or flooded by water to some extent. I truly wish that the city of New Orleans, and all areas affected by the hurricane, can rebuild quickly, and New Orleans can recapture the beauty and the spirit it once was famous for. To all the people evacuated from their homes, return home safe. |
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8.11.05
My Visit to Self Proclaimed "World Famous San Diego Zoo" |
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8.11.05
Motorcycle Diary: the Journey and the Influence This is my journey. I left Texas in February to California in search for a job and a new opportunity. My journey didn't fulfill my original purpose quite well. But at the end I discovered something else that I didn't expect. This thought was somewhat provoked and inspired by the movie Motorcycle Diary. The movie was about the true story of two friends, Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Alberto Granado, who set off a cross continent journey from Buenos Aires to the northern most tip of Latin America in Columbia on a motorcycle. Guevara is famous for his revolutionary work later in his life (i.e. not mentioned in the movie). A lot of celebrities and athletes wear clothing with portrait of Guevara on it as a gesture of supporting Guevara's vision and revolution. In the movie, Che was deeply influenced by what he saw in his motorcycle trip through Latin America. He witnessed the lives of the people in the Andes, a couple without jobs, historical remains of Spanish colonization, and the leprosy clinic (picture above, when he left the clinic). Before taking off for the trip, he was a medical student about to graduate. His medical knowledge was highly appreciated in the leprosy clinic, where he volunteered for some time. I guess what I want to say is that Che was influenced by what he saw in the clinic, which was divided by a river into two parts, one without leprosy patients and one with leprosy patients in a place in much worse condition (this was done to prevent spread of the disease). He saw it as an injustice to the patients. The patients and workers in the clinic were also influenced by Che for his willingness to come close contact with patients and his passion for volunteering. My short stay in the state of California didn't offer me with anything I set out to look for. But the experience was influencial in ways I didn't expect. |
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8.5.05
The Tale of Three Pairs Living in America brought me inconvenience incomparable to that in Macau. I think my glasses are the best example. I have three pair of glasses all my life. I got my first one at the age of 12. I was moved to the second to the last seat in the classroom. I discovered for the first time that my eyes were perfect any more. I had real problem reading the written words on the chalk board. I remember one time I couldn't even real the questions written by Miss Carmen (she liked to just write the questions on the board during exams, an ancient practice now rarely seen in schools) on the chalk board in a readers test. I got my first pair of lenses and my world all of a sudden became clear. Then the following four years I was arranged to sit rather close to the front of the classroom. I didn't need to wear glasses all the time. Mostly only in school. My first pair of glasses cost about MOP$700 (around US$88). It had a gold, matte and metallic look, oval around the lenses, giving an impression of durable and sustainable. Not long after I got my first one, my father suggested to get another pair as a backup. So I went and picked a blue and glossy, semi-rectangular lens frame. It was just a backup pair. This pair cost relatively less at MOP$450 (around US$56). I used those two pairs alternatively and didn't treat my second pair as the backup. I sometimes think the second pair looks better. I brought them to the US. They both suffered damages to different degrees, mostly on basketball court. Due to multiple injuries and a major defect, my first ever pair of glasses retired (7 years of service). For awhile I only had one pair of glasses. I got my third pair soon after. This one has a similar look to my first one, cost almost the same, except it's silver. The salesperson at the optical store told me that the design had discontinued by the manufacturer. Since this frame is durable, many customers liked it but they were already running out of stock. I was lucky to have the final pair left in that store. However, this pair wasn't able to withstand a few blows. The frame around the one lens deformed and it could no longer hold the lens tight. Once again I'm down to one pair. The only pair that never disappointed me. The only pair that had never gone down in battles. The only pair that never failed. This pair is in the picture above. Nonetheless, this pair has its share of problems. The screws could no longer does their jobs. The screws on both sides came loose often. One side was fixed by installing another screw and a hexagon shaped cap. The screw was fine until it came out suddenly when I was out on the street at night. I was trying to find the screw on the street under dim street lights. Surely my effort brought me nowhere. Now it's held together with a metal wire which you use to bundle things up or to wrap the opening of a plastic bag used for produce in grocery stores. I can't believe the cheapest pair of glasses of the three can survive the longest. I currently have only this usable pair of glasses. I don't know how long can this pair be in service. The lenses have so many scratches on their surfaces they blur the light coming from the opposing traffic when I drive at night. It's amazing how this pair of glasses time and time again got through tough blows on basketball courts. Playing basketball is almost the only reason my glasses are in danger. But I'm still going to play with my glasses on. |
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7.11.05
Trapped! A little update on myself: I moved from Austin, TX to San Jose, CA in February. I stayed there for two months, interviewed with two companies (one Chemical Engineering related), still jobless at the end. Then moved from Northern California to Southern California. I had a job that was not worth doing for a month. I bought a car immediately after I got that job. Now I'm still in Southern California trying to find a job half of the time and spending the other half serving no real purpose. A half year of long vacation is a very good time to reflect on myself. This is big reason why this blog has been quiet. Too much pondering, too little writing. This period of time can be considered a long way down the road as good vacation. But while I'm in it, the view is much different. I feel lost, yet no way to turn. I found out that one big reason I feel so lost is because I have conditioned/been conditioned to be a exam tackling machine. Never asked myself questions about what I would like to do after school. The goal had been to work hard to achieve good grades in school. This had been my one and only purpose so far. This is the influence from the combination of the systems, schools, teachers, parents, and myself. Yet I have to make a point clear. I myself is the determining part of it. I had never in my life had a real goal for myself. I never felt the necessity to think about having one, until now. I trapped myself in the box (not that I intended to, just not conscious of the need of finding a way out) for so long. Now I feel so lost when I finally got out only because the box is running out of capacity to hold me in. |
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3.22.05
Amazing Stuff! Maybe I don't go to cosmetic stores too often, or not at all. I went to a lotion store one day in a mall in Milpitas, CA. (Picture above) This store sells lotion, and I believe lotion only. It has all kinds of lotions for different parts of body and all kinds of fragrances. I wasn't amazed that it has such a big variety of lotion. Rather, I was amazed that it has this sink. There were many lotion samples for us to try. We can try the samples for any reason, maybe just want to get free lotion for the day, or no reason at all. My friend was putting on a few different lotions on her hands to test their fragrances. I was wondering what if one wants to try more than just a few different fragrances. Wouldn't she (mostly) or he (rarely) confuses all those fragrances? The solution is: THE SINK. Afraid that you get confused with the Apple fragrance with Passion Fruit fragrance? Wash your hands and try again. |
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2.28.05
San Francisco Chinatown sucks! (and the city sucks, too!) The last weekend my friend Francisco, two of his UI friends and I made a short day trip to San Francisco. The city of San Francisco fell way short of my expectation. Maybe I didn't see the beautiful side of it, the side of the town that I saw was old and messy. We hit straight to the downtown when we got there. The impression was just old. The city of New York was established way earlier than the city of San Francisco, however, the San Francisco downtown looked at least 50 years older than that of New York. The street traffic set up was confusing and weird. I couldn't understand why this town can look this old and this unfriendly. |
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2.22.05
Job hunting frustration I don't really know how to start. Thanks to Ernie who has pushed me hard to update my website. I have wanted to update for a long time. I just didn't have the mood or the right topic to write about. I have moved from Austin, Texas to San Jose, California to hunt for job. I guess hunting is the perfect word. The job I'm waiting and looking for is like a prey, and I never know when it is going to show up. Well, so far, I don't see it. It's like hunting in a vast woodland without sighting any opportunity. I talked about the job fair (and the most successful job fair) I have attended two weeks ago, as usual, I didn't get any response from any of the companies I submitted my resume to. I didn't expect them to reach me, so it's as expected. My job hunting actually started in September. I have been using the career center at school to apply for jobs. After one whole semester of submitting resumes, I didn't get any job offers, not even one single damn interview. I think there was problems with my resume. So I went to talk to people in the career center. They said my resume looked ok and they didn't understand why I didn't get any interviews. BS. They are just not helping. I have talked to so many people and recruiters from the industry who are looking to hire college graduates like me. There are so many companies not allowed to hire international students (or people who need work permit to work for them) like me. Those that hire never call or email me back after we talked. All these made me feel like I'm not wanted, not needed. My Chemical Engineering friend keep telling me that chemical engineers are one of the most wanted college graduates now. I just don't see it. Nobody wants to hire me, not even wanting to talk to me. Nobody appreciates a person like me. One of my fellow unemployed Chemical Engineering classmate said that we (collectively) know we are capable and will be excellent at wherever and whatever we will work in, it's just that the companies don't see us yet. It's an optimistic view. It's a good attitude too. But I just believe more strongly that this is just one perfect way to comfort ourselves. |
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2.8.05
Job Fair I never liked going to a job fair. I don't like talking to strangers and at the same time try to sell myself to them. Too bad job fair is one of many more efficient ways to help me finding a job. (Since I'm looking for a job) Yesterday I went to the first job fair after my graduation. My goal this time has been a little different. I'm not looking for finding something immediately since I was planning to move out of Austin very soon. So I came up with a conversation strategy that I have never used before -- to sell myself. My previous job fair visits usually focused on asking recruiters a lot of questions and never promote myself. Well, as a result, I picked up something very interesting because of that. I said I never liked going to a job fair. Mostly because I don't like talking to strangers and sell myself in front of a stranger. This time I was just going to do exactly that. I tell them that they should hire international students like me because we bring something different to the table. I was from a totally different living environment. I overcame tremendous a lot of difficulties when I came here for college and started with knowing nobody here. I worked hard to adapt to this place and the culture. I also worked on my English to ease the language barrier. As a result of all these hard work and dedication, I became officer in an honor society and a college wide student organization. My goal of this speech was to impress them, and make them feel bad for not able to hire me. Usually they would show empathy. I was happy that I was able to successfully do that. During my conversations, I met a guy (40+) named Frank who works in a mining company (which hires chemical engineers but not international students). He was born in Macau and went to school there for several years (I even know his school, but won't disclose the name here). He then went to Yuet Wah (yeah!) for a year before moving to Hong Kong. He came here for college. He was planning to go back to Hong Kong after college, but, guess what, he met a girl and got married here. So he decided to stay here. Interesting story!! Since most people find a girl here to try to get residency. He actually stayed here because of a girl. I never know what I would pick up if I open up myself to talk to strangers.
Sidenote: Two recruiters were impressed by my speech.
However, none of them contacted me since the job fair. |
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1.26.05
My day at work Maybe not many of you know, I worked as a waiter for two weeks. On my last day there (which was today), I experienced something I didn't expect to experience and will probably remember it for some time. I remember mentioning a television show on my website called "Worlds Apart". It is about an American family traveled to a foreign country and live with the natives in very primitive condition for a week. Their destinations included Kenya, remote Malaysia, and Mongolia. Many families broke out and cried when they had to kill a lamb or a chicken for food. Americans have to luxury to live in a world that meat are cut, cleaned, and packed for them. All they need to do is to drive to a supermarket and pick them up. I didn't understand why they were so emotionally vulnerable to the fact that they have to kill for food, not that their everyday food wasn't alive once. After today, I may have to change this view. Most of the seafood served in the restaurant are alive in aquariums. The seafood includes fish, prawns, crabs and lobsters. One of the orders I took today was a dish of fried fish. This was the first time in my two-week waiter career that I took an order of fish. I needed to hand pick a medium size fish from a pool of fish in the kitchen. At first that pool of fish didn't appear to have live fish in it because of the bubbles on top. The fact that I needed to catch a fish alive struck me at the point. I was scared. A fish's fate was in my hand. I overcame my fear and stuck the net into the water. I could feel the fishes swimming and trying to avoid my net. I knew that the moment I pull a fish out of its habitat it will jump to fight for its life. The fishes were not small. Each has a length of at least 15 cm and weighs 3 pounds. The power of the fish jumping was intimidating. I could feel it begging for my mercy. I was guilty of watching it from alive to dying and lying motionless. I can't wait to carry it to a tray and leave it and forget about it. There were two such orders today. The fish jumped even more aggressively the second time. But I wasn't as guilty this time. If I have the choice, I would choose not to do anything like this again. Sidenote: The crab, prawn, and lobster aquariums are located outside of the kitchen. Customers can see their potential seafood swimming around. This is a very common practice in where I came from. I have never thought that this anything special. One American kid went by the aquariums and said, "this place is scary." I guess this is pretty new to most Americans, most definitely to kids. |
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1.26.05
One of my worst experiences at movies (The Aviator is good, but something else happened...) I went to see the Aviator yesterday. The movie was a good movie that is worth watching. (See my review by clicking here to zimmeauville) The reason I think this was one of my worst experienced at movies is because of a technical error at the theatre. The error occurred at the sound system. The sound was fine before the screen started showing anything, when it played some relaxing music. It was still fine when it was showing a series of trailers. Suddenly in the middle of the last trailer, the sound system started playing the relaxing music we were supposed be played before anything had started. The entire action movie (I forgot the name, I remember seeing Bruce Willis in the trailer) trailer was complimented by the relaxing music. It was quite entertaining and funny. However, when the feature presentation the Aviator started, the music was still the relaxing music. I could not hear the conversation between the young aviator Howard Hughes (the adult Howard Hughes is Leon DiCaprio) and his mother. I could not hear anything other than the "relaxing music" (it was no longer relaxing). I was sitting in front of all of the other audience. I turned around and said, "is there a problem with the sound?" No one responded. At one point I thought it was my problem that I heard music instead of the movie track. They all seemed to enjoy what they were watching and hearing. I went out to the concession stand and talked to the only person there. He communicated with someone with a walkie-talkie. The problem was fixed a minute later. I can't imagine that no one stood up and did something. If I didn't walk out and tell somebody about this, we could just sit there the entire movie listening to "relaxing music". |
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1.24.05
"maybe u should have spent less time watching TV and less football game mania" Maybe I shouldn't start this brand new page with something like this. The above quote was written by Ernie through instant messaging on MSN. Thank Ernie for always telling the truth. After graduating college last month, I had some time to look back at all those four years I spent. One of many things that I wish I had done better was study more. Not that I didn't study. I didn't study hard enough. I'm sure I was at times. But there were some classes that I could have more up a letter grade if I had put a little more effort. I do admit that I watched a lot of television (mostly sports). But consider this: living in here can sometimes be boring. I have to find something to kill time. I picked up American sports: college football, college basketball, professional football, NBA, baseball. Sports became my main source of entertainment. I enjoyed it a lot. I don't see anything wrong about it. Football gives me something I can talk about with people in school. It also gave me one of the best moments during my years here. Sports is what I love and I will continue paying attention to sports. Anyways, in a short period I did not put my mind on study the way I should. TV and sports was part of but not the whole reason. Well, it is history now. There were some mistakes I made... It's ok to make mistakes. I learn from them. |
