Chillin on the balcony
It's been a pretty good night. At first, we wanted to watch a movie. But it turned out that we were too late. So...we came back home and enjoyed a glass of fine single malt on the balcony at our new apartment. There was a constant cool breeze, which is a perfect condition for drinking a glass of Scotch...especially a single malt.
Natt and Magnus joined me on the balcony, while Por was busy re-arranging her stuffs. Natt was drinking Glenmorangie, and Magnus probably drank Macallan of the Thirties. I enjoyed my 18-year Glenlivet very much...especially this one. It's because I got this bottle on my 29th birthday from my beloved friends here. Never wanted to finish it...but I did today.
We probably spent only one and a half hour on the patio, but it felt pretty good and long...like a glass of Whiskey, indeed.
What is so special about the last piece (ชิ้นเกรงใจ)?
A few days ago, I went to a restaurant with my friends. We ordered something (which I cannot recall no matter how hard I try) to share as an appetizer. There were five of us and six pieces of whatever it was. As usual, each of us took one...but the last one. It took quite some time, after pushing it to other people back and forth...and yadayadayada, someone finally took it. I usually
try to take the last piece without hesitation because I think it's not more or less special than other pieces. But I even have to
try!
A question arose...why does it take so much time until someone eat the last piece? Or, in other words, why is the last piece the most unwanted? Or is it? What is so special about the last piece?
Assuming that the food is heavenly delicious... The first thought that comes to mind is: Oh, it's because people wants to have their friends have it. It's because they love their friend. Giving is good...makes one happy...especially giving to another friend. Now...if giving up the last piece to a friend makes you happy, then giving up the last piece to your mother should make you happier. Because your mother is more important to your friend. Similarly, a mother would always give up the last piece to her children. So, that seems to make sense. (Please don't be confused now...I'm almost confused myself)
But wait! How come I am more reluctant to take the last piece when I'm dining with people I hardly know. It's more likely that I take the last piece from my friend than from someone I just met (Remember? The food is heavenly delicious). Why?
Maybe I don't want to look bad. But if I'll meet the person only once and will never meet again, looking bad doesn't really matter, does it? So, why?
In sum. When there's a last delicious piece of spring roll left on the dish, people are reluctant to eat it. And, most of the time, it's not because they want to give it for the sake of giving. Sometimes, it's not so much about personal image. My question is, then, why? Does it happen only with Thai or Asian people?
411 Summerhill
Friday, the twenty-ninth day of July
Is the day that we depart.
We might not see each other again,
but I will always keep you in my heart.
So many joy, laughter, good times, and bad times
They all happened here.
Such a memorable place,
And memorable years.
Remember when we had parties,
We did so many things.
We barbeque, cook, and drink
We also played the game called Kings.
O now it's time I must move on,
but I'll always remember still.
Spent a good chunk of my life in a place,
A place called 411 Summerhill.
It's ALIVE!!!
After several days of frustration, I finally got the internet nicely and wirelessly extended from Magnus' apartment. Well...the seem-to-be-easy task wasn't easy at all. Magnus' apartment is in the basement, and the apartment I'm in is on the 3rd floor...plus lots of concrete walls and floors!
I tried to use my old, but faithful, Apple Airport Base Station (with wireless-b). Only a itsy-bitsy tiny signal picked up on my laptop, and it's on and off...pissed me off all night. So, yesterday, I bought a stronger, younger machine - a Belkin Wireless-g router. What a disappointment it was. The rookie runs almost as bad as the old dude. The only better thing is that it give decent signal around a small area of the apartment. So, I tried to link them together...hoping that they'll give me coverage I (and everyone who lives here) need. I failed.
But I learned from the net that same brand routers speak the same language...so, I went back to Bestbuy again today...bought another Belkin router. This time...it's a wireless-g+. I don't know what the "+" is for, but it's gotta be good (I thought).
After several hours of trying, and running back and forth from the basement to the 3rd floor, and not going to the restroom no matter how bad I felt I needed to (yes, I know...but everybody must have gone through the same thing at least once or twice, ya?), I succeed! The signal is good! I got online! It's working! It's alive!
Herrrr...the good thing is...everybody will be happy. I won't have to pay for the routers. Those who pay...will actually pay less than what they would have paid without the routers. I feel very satisfied today. I just hope that it works like this...all year long.
Kikujiro
I watched "Kikujiro" quite some years ago, but my heart is still under the spell of its theme song. The reason I talk about this now is that I just heard it's theme song again today from someone's blog...and it just brings back all the memories about the movie.
Kikujirô no natsu (1999)
Directed by Takeshi Kitano
Sypnosis: A nine-year old Masao (Yusuke Sekigushi), who lives alone with his grandmother, is determined and set out to find the mother he has never met. A friend of his grandmother makes her husband, Kikujiro (Beat Takeshi), go with Masao on his journey.
Kikujiro is a kind of man who is rude, irresponsible, and always look for easy money. He lost all of Masao's trip-money gambling in a racetrack. It is so obvious that he doesn't enjoy being with the boy at all.
They have to stumble their way through to reach the boy's destination. Along the way, they encounter many fun and colorful people...which bring them to unimaginable destinations toward the end of the journey.
(Thank you...
http://www.sonyclassics.com/kikujiro/ and
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199683/ for various information on the movie)
I love the movie so much. I could watch it over and over again. Now that I heard the song again...I wanna watch it again sa laew~
Farewell...LoogChin~ (Meatball)
There was a sad news yesterday. Soe's Chinchilla, LoogChin~ (or Meatball), passed away.
LoogChin~ had been with us for a few years, in her cage at the corner near our stair. Although she hadn't let us pet her that much and always put on a grumpy face, I adored her. I had been successful in training LoogChin~ to get some snacks from my hands or walked a little bit on my leg. But I was never be able to catch her. She's fast and, I guess, love to run around the house whenever she had a chance.
Recently, she moved to stay with Fa...a friend who has another Chinchilla and a dog (I think). Fa called this morning to tell the sad news to Soe...that LoogChin~ passed away. She thought that the cause could be heart failure, which (I think, again) is common in Chinchilla's genetic disease.
Although I'm not that emotionally attached to LoogChin~ and that we hadn't had her in the house for a while, I would like to dedicate this blog to her. My condolences...
Only Trust Your Heart
Not gonna say much. I believe Astrud Gilberto sang it in 1970s. Such a lovely voice. Only Trust Your Heart it is...this one.
Move! Move! Move!
Well...actually, I don't like moving at all. We have been moving to a new apartment since Monday...and not done yet :P
It's too bad we have to move. Well, the reason is that I'll be leaving...so, Soe & Por had to find a smaller apartment. We have been in this one for 3 years, a long time...long enough to accumulate all sort of things. We packed and packed and packed all weekend. On Monday, I rented a U-Haul truck to transport all the big n heavy things. Many people came to help...Natt, Aim, Magnus, Mo and Pim. Thanks guys. On Monday, we carried a lot of things...ranging from boxes of books to a queen-size mattress. There were so many of us, making the task not too hard. But...by the end of the day, we were all exhausted.
Since then, we've been cleaning and packing...and cleaning and packing...for three days. Although we threw a lot of things away, put many things for sale, and donated plenty of clothes and toys...we still have plenty left.
Another thing about the new apartment is that the air-con is not cool for more than 6 feet away. Luckily...I will be the one who sleep in the living room, where the air-conditioner is. I suppose tomorrow is the day we all move there to sleep. We'll see how it goes.
P.S. I wanted to take photos during the moving process, but don't have a chance...not enough free hands.
I am no Economist
It has been only a few weeks that I seriously do blogging. Along the way, I couldn't help but browse through blogs of my friends, friends of my friends, and their friends...wherever the links of the links brought me to.
I really do enjoy quietly reading a lot of them. Lately, I have enjoyed reading the discussion among a particular group of friends...people I know and lost touch for quite some time. I am delighted to learn that they are doing more than OK. This group of people is a bunch of young, brilliant economists in Thailand. Their articles and discussions on their blogs have been educating, entertaining, and enlightening to me. And, I would like to take this opportunity to ask for their permission to put links to their blogs in my blog (so the list of my friends a little longer :P). I hope they don't mind.
In their blogs, there are a lot of explanations, discussions, constructive arguments, and sometimes damn-good jokes...especially concerning economic issues. Many people gave their opinions...from their point of view...according to their expertise.
As for me, I found myself having no comment whatsoever. I had nothing to say or to contribute. But, why so? And, this is what I can come up with...
Answer #1: It is because these people are the cream of the crop. They can cover so many angles far beyond my imagination...so that I am left speechless. The outthink me...which I find quite very possible. I honestly believe so.
But, that doesn't mean that the Answer #2 will be obsolete.
Answer #2: It is because I don't care. I might not care about those issues as much as they do. Partially, this is also true. I do not fancy economics as much as I should. Or...maybe...I have lost my faith.
The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that my faith is fading. I think the concept of an economist I have now appears different from the concept of an economist I used to know. Maybe I have finally discovered the truth. Maybe I had had the wrong idea or ideal all along. Or maybe I'm just in a wrong place.
As a researcher, I'm trying to search for more explanation...and I think I found two things that have disturbed me.
First of all, anyone who wish to excel in ("pure") economic studies almost always has to pass the so-called "Qualifying Exam" in Microeconomics and/or Macroeconomics. People here called it the terrifying Q-Exam. A lot of people have suffered and failed the gauntlet.
This year, I heard that the Student Counselor from the healthcare center sent a letter demanding an explanation from the Econ and Applied Econ Departments, "What's going on?" About 75% of total students who seek mental help are from these two departments. And, five of them are in a "danger zone." They are prone to being suicidal.
That was one shocking information to me, and I frown upon it. Life in education should not be this bad. I am sure that we can learn a lot of things and become very useful to the society without having to be pressured that hard. In addition, the knowledge (i.e. high-level mathematics) forcefully stuffed in us would become pretty-much useless if we go back to our (developing) countries.
The second point I found is the academic evaluation system here. Many may not agree with me on this, and I'm still not sure whether I'm thinking in the right direction. But, let me just tell you what I think.
As everybody knows, publication matters...a lot. More publications mean that you are a better academic person. I believe that is true to a good level. However, the direction of acceptable publications seems to be more toward the abstract world (or the world of mathematics) more than the real world. The well-known experts in the top universities are formed in the same fashion. From what I see, a person with better mathematical ability will be a better economist (by such standard). And, they will produce such and such publications...which is geared toward the abstract world. And, more importantly, they will design the "Q-Exam" to form the new batch of young economists. And (again), the young economists selected will do their best in what they can do best - exploring more in the mathematical world.
To me, that may lead us nowhere. But then, again, I can be wrong.
Tipping Story
When dining at a sit-down restaurant in the US, it is almost always a must to tip the waiter (or waitress) at least 15% of the price you pay for the meal. Such "custom" has been on my mind since years ago. To me, it didn't seem quite right.
Many times, the waiter doesn't treat you extremely well...and you might feel that he doesn't deserve 15%...BUT, you feel that you
have to give the 15% anyway. Anybody, who had been living in the US for a while, would know what I am talking about.
Is it fair? ..that we feel so obligated to pay for the gratuity we did not receive. I've asked many people from many countries...none of them has such custom. It has led me to believe that the US is the only country with the 15-percent-minimum tipping custom. So...I discussed my feelings toward the matter with several friends and got the following conclusion:
Background - A restaurant owner often pays a very small wage to a waiter, knowing that the waiter will get more from gratuities. The waiter knows or expects that he will get some more income from tipping. And, that compensates the small wage he receives.
Assuming that every customer (must) always pay 15% gratuity, the amount of income that the waiter receives each day depends on the number of customers. More customer means more money. Less customer means little money. Note that, more or less customer, the waiter spends the same amount of time working.
As for the owner, he always receive the amount according to the price. If a dish of Pad-Thai costs $5 (assuming it's a total cost including everything) to make and priced at $9, he will always get $4 for each dish he sold...regardless of how many customer walk in that day.
From these assumptions, it seems that some (or a good chunk) of the business risk is transferred from the restaurant owner to the waiter. Is the waiter treated unfairly? The answer I get is, "No, not really." The waiter took the job knowing that this would happen. He was willing to take the risk. It's the best he could do in the situation.
It seems that the 15-percent (socially/customarily required) tipping is not an incentive to good services from waiters at all. It is merely a tool for risk sharing between the restaurant owner and his employees. So, I guess the good services I received sometimes are more from the heart of the waiters/waitresses than from the tipping incentive. Now...up to this point, I wonder. Why do we have to tip a waiter so much for the quality services not induced by the tipping itself?
What is this madness!?!
I've sold and thrown away many things,
but the apartment is still full of stuffs.
I've been packing my belongings in my room for weeks now,
but my room is still packed.
I've been trying to sleep at night. And, I finally slept early today.
But, only that I woke up too early too...4AM,
and was unable to go back to sleep (again).
So, I packed more stuffs in my room until 10...
...but, when I look at my room now, it is still as packed as before.
What is this madness!?!
What is the real purpose of Friendster or Hi5 or something similar?
I'm on both Hi5 and Friendster. In case you don't know what they are, they are friend-network thing that allow you to meet new people, who are a friend of a friend, not totally stranger.
Well, I joined as my friends invited me. It was fun...seeing how many friends my friends have, and how they are, how they look like, are they cute? :P
But, after a while, it gets boring pretty quickly. I mean...I like looking at cute girls and all (who wouldn't). But it's not like I'd have a chance to know them...really. The "About me" thing doesn't say much because most of people don't reveal much of themselves anyway.
I guess I'm an old-fashion guy afterall. I like to meet people in person. Chatting tell a little bit about a person...but talking face-to-face is much better...at least to me.
Well...I might come off a bit strong about the thing, but I do like interact with my friends through Hi5 and Friendster.
Why does it have to be so complicated?!?
As many of you might already know, I am seriously thinking about going to study Japanese language in Japan in the near future. It's because I've always fancy Japan as a country, culture, and its way of life. Over the years, I visited Japan a couple of times and have always impressed with its uniqueness. Then, I realize that my chance has come. I just finished school; I have no job; I'm not doing anything in particular. Perfect!
So, I found a language institute locating in Okazaki City (I believe it's somewhere close to Nagoya)...it's called the
Yamasa Institute. First, I wanted to go for a 6-month program...so I can work part-time and look for jobs. But...
Obstacle #1: I had to apply since May. So...one down. I cannot apply for a long-term visa. This left me no choice but to apply for a short-stay visa, which will allow me to stay up to 90 days.
That's fine. I'll go for a 10-week course then...and I'll have time traveling afterward. Sounds like a good idea.
Obstacle #2: Since I'm from Thailand, I might need a guarantor - someone who is either a Japanese or a foreign resident in Japan with steady income. Mmm...that sounds troublesome. But, if I have a residency or a student status in the US, I won't need a guarantor. The problem for me is...I'm now a student in the US, but I won't be by the time I go to Japan. It seems like I'm stuck in the middle of the two categories. I hate this kind of feelings. I wish thinks weren't so complicated for a Thai citizen. If I were an American or a Singaporean, I could just go...period.
Well...I guess I have a solution. I'll find a guarantor anyway. My good friend, Naoya, has agreed to be my reference if needed. Good thing he's there for a while. Come to think of it, I can also ask Koji too. He's probably in Japan by then. And, come to think of it again, about 80% of my foreign friends here are Japanese. Ha! Ain't that something.
Happy Anniversary!!!
Although it is not today, but on July 11th, I'd like to say "Happy Anniversary! We, the whole family, are very happy for you guys" to my lovely sister and her husband, Josh. It's their first anniversary. I'm sure they had a great time and an excellent celebration ;9
I can't believe it all happened in one day
Well...today was one of the shorter days here. That means...I did so many things today. It started with picking up Soe from the airport. I went to bed around 5AM and had to wake up at 9AM. Surprisingly, I woke up anyway...drove to the airport and back. A piece of cake.
Then, I was on the phone and chatted with several people on MSN a bit until the internet went dead. Hmmm...I was a bit frustrated. Good thing I was sleepy (due to lack of sleep last night, remember?), so I took a nap. Who knows how long I was out. But, by the time I woke up (and it's not that late in the afternoon too), the internet is good again. I checked emails, but no mail. I guess I expect too many mails and friends online when I have nothing to do. So, I decided to go to the mall...and I had only one thing in mind, Japanese Language Software.
I made sure I bring the $10-off Bestbuy Card and headed toward Pyramid Mall. It was quick. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the living room...messing around with the program. And, I thought, "This program is tough. It has me start with all the hard sentences with unrecognizable characters. I must have made a wrong choice." It turned out that I put the wrong CD in. That was CD#2.
So, after being a monkey for half an hour, I finally put the right CD in. It starts with a game, matching Hiragana and its Romanji counterpart. The game was fun, but it took quite a long time for me to remember 4 series of characters. I guess that part of my brain has been in hibernation for too long. The 4 series are:
あ い う え お わ を ん
か き く け こ きゃ きゅ きょ
さ し す せ そ しゃ しゅ しょ
た ち つ て と ちゃ ちゅ ちょ
Looking at it now, that's not much at all...but it took me a while. Then, I switch to C++ programming. What a twist. It was not so long until I realized I was quite hungry. I ate a corndog with leftover curry (?!?) just because I realize I would miss the movie if I took too much time on dinner.
The movie was Howl's Moving Castle, the one I saw in Japan last year and had always wanted to watch it. I enjoyed the movie a lot, although it was quite different from the original novel.
This one is more...romantic, I'd say. Where the book concentrated more on the wizard, Howl, the movie focused on Sophie - a young girl cursed into a 90-year-old lady. The movie went smoothly, and it was as impressive as others of Miyazaki's works...magical. In all, I left the theater with full satisfaction. Although it's already late, I think I'm gonna sleep early tonight.
Insomnia & Tonkatsu Curry!
These couple of days have been a bit slow. Yesterday, I played tennis with Por, Magnus, and Natt for almost 3 hours. Very good game...So exhauseted. However, I couldn't sleep all night...so I spent time looking for jobs on the web (mostly)...until about 6AM. I was reluctant to go to sleep by that time because I had an appointment to get my car fixed at 8:45AM.
Yes...I've been staying awake at night for several nights now. And, the thing is...I'm not sad or depressed or feeling too terrible. That's probably what they call "insomnia" - a chronic inability to fall asleep or remain asleep for an adequate length of time (from dictionary.com).
So...today, I fell asleep in the late afternoon. Woke up, and went out with Pap and Natt to Ithaca Tofu and P&C. First, I was hesitating between Spaghetti Meat Sauce or Tonkatsu Curry for dinner. But the urge for Tonkatsu Curry won!!!
Look at that. It actually tasted better than it looks. Anyhow, the dish had made my day :9
Bossa Antigua
I had this CD by Paul Desmond some years ago, but it's lost...suspecting someone evil had stolen it. Anyhow, I managed to save a few songs on my computer. Here is one...Bossa Antigua!
A Little Flash Back
What I'm going to write today will not be about today. It's gonna be a little flash back to my commencement on May 28-29, 2005. The reason I'm doing this is that someone (I'm sorry I cannot remember who you are) told me that I should put a link to my commencement photos on the blog. So
here it is.
First of all, the commencement is not as complicated as it is in Thailand. No practice, no fixed seat and all of those stuffs. I think it made the ceremony actually enjoyable and more convenient. On Saturday, the 28th, we had a Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony. What happened was...we lined up to shake hand with Cornell's president...then, a reception and some food.
The next day was the "walk." Everybody lined up on the Arts Quad, then walked toward the stadium...where the speech and the whole event took place. The most impressive moment for me that day was...when we walked out of the Quad, all the professors would line up on both sides and clapped their hands for us. For an undergrad, that was probably nothing. But for a Ph.D. like us (and many have agreed with me on this) who worked hard and took lots of pressure over the years, the moment was quite overwhelming.
At the stadium, we listened to the (Cornell) president's speech. He talked about "the dark side" referring to the latest Star Wars movie. I have to say I like how he put it. Afterward, I went to the departmental reception...where I got my Ph.D. diploma (which actually is an empty envelope...I'll get my real diploma in November). And that concluded the commencement ceremony.
The happiest people that day was my parents...and many other parents. I could feel it.
I'm learning C++
#include < iostream >
int Add(int x, int y)
{
std::cout << "I read Chapter " << x << " and Chapter " << y << "\n";
return (x+y);
}
int main()
{
std::cout << "I'm reading...\n";
std::cout << "...'Teach Yourself C++ in 24HRS'\n";
std::cout << "It makes my day more meaningful.\n";
std::cout << "Now I just finished Chapter " << Add(1,3);
std::cout << "\nThis stuff is pretty fun :)\n\n" ;
return 0;
}
It's a Boy!
Perhaps, the best thing happened in these couple of days is a news - Pung & Stephen found out the gender of their baby. It's a boy! Yey! Congratulations to Pung & Stephen :)
As for me, these couple of days has been dull. I should start re-formatting my resume/CV ...whatever it is. The problem is that I've been in a 'extremely down' phase. The only thing that seems to help is extreme tennis. I think I'll just have to exercise at least 2 hours a day just to keep my mood up to par. I wonder if this is the same feeling as a woman with menopause :P
Back in Ithaca
Finally...after a 7-hour drive (with dinner), we arrived Ithaca. It was a quiet ride. I guess everybody didn't enjoy sitting still for hours (well, who would?). We wanted to have Ruby Tuesday for dinner. But, after hours of driving, we only find junk food and those-sort-of-quick-food. So...without hesitation, I turned toward the Exit when someone yelled "TGI Friday! Yes! Yes! OK!" The food was ok. But the heartbreaking part is that...we found out...Ruby Tuesday was only a few miles away. I guess it was not our day for Ruby Tuesday.
After arriving home, I chatted with Toi+ a little bit...actually quite a long time. He helped me a lot with my resume, something I have absolutely minimal experience about. Thanks, man.
It's almost 2AM now. I don't know why I always feel like blogging at this time of the day. To think about it...it's probably the most inconvenient time of the day to do this. Why? Because while I'm talking about "today" ...it is actually "yesterday." Hmmm...think about it.
P.S. No picture today. I guess it's because I was driving (or sleeping) most of the time.
Visiting Pung & Stephen
There are five of us: Por, Soe, Natt, Magnus, and I. We departed Ithaca around 4PM of Friday, heading for Washington D.C. We arrived Pung & Stephen's house around 10:30PM. Everyone loves the beautiful house built in the 50s but still look like a modern home. I was so hungry. Luckily, Pung prepared rice with dried beef (เนื้อแดดเดียว) and delicious soup.
The next day, Saturday, we had a nice Caribou coffee in the morning and went shopping. Soe got her new blue, Louis Vuitton wallet. I believe that already made her day...made her one very happy girl. After some shopping, we went to the Air & Space Museum near Dulles Airport. The museum was ok. Although Pung was about 5-month pregnant, she could walk a good distance. We were happy to see her strength and good health. Magnus and I went for the simulator understanding that it's a flight simulator (the one we get to fly a plane)...but it was just a ride. After the simulator, we all went for an IMAX movie. Can't really remember the name of the movie, but it's about a pilot's story of joining some practice. Not the best IMAX I've seen :P
In the evening, actually late evening, we went to Thai Square Restaurant for some Thai food. It was a long wait, but worth it. The good thing is that we ordered while we were waiting...so the food would come when the table became available. We had nice crab fried rice, kana-mookrob, fried squid, etc. Let's say...we came home satisfied.
On Sunday, we woke up a little late...so we had brunch at home. I was still enthusiastic about my new camera. Soe and I walked around the house and took some pictures. Oh...I love taking pictures outdoor. The indoor lighting was not quite accomodating...but I got by ok.
After lunch, we went to the zoo. It was a hot and humid day, but we walked through out most part of the zoo. The animal seemed to be quite lazy. I don't know if they are usually like this in the afternoon. The lion just sat there doing nothing. The tigers walk around slowly. I'd have to say that three hours at the zoo seemed like all day. But, it ended eventually. We came home and started the BBQ preparation.
I'm glad that Na and Koi were able to join us. It's been such a long time that I haven't seen them. They appeared to be doing very fine. The BBQ party went so well...the food was awesome...steak, BBQ pork, sticky rice, etc. Can't believe that we'll leave for Ithaca tomorrow. The weekend trip has been so quick. I guess time flies when you have fun.
Corning Museum of Glass
This is my second trip to the Corning Museum of GLASS or CMOG. We (Natt, Nong, Pap, Aim, and I) took off from Ithaca on Wednesday at 11am. We stopped by Collegetown Bagle to get some lunch before we leave. I don't know whether my driving was so bad...it made the girls feel sick...or they are so motion-sensitive. Anyway, we got there alright...around 1pm.
Since we are from the area, we had to pay only $4 each for admission. The exhibition started with Czech's collection, the history of glass making (a huge collection), then technologies involving glass, and the glass-blowing show.
Although I've seen most of it, I really enjoyed being there. I guess I like museam in general. The girls seemed to enjoy it too, especially the shopping section. Nong bought a few things for her new apartment. Natt bought a couple of drinking glasses. I bought nothing, though I really wanted a 20-dollar whiskey glass. But I was so broke and out of job. But, I'll be back...once I have more money ;)
I don't know why there were so many people at the museum. And it's not even weekends. It's Wenesday. Tons of Chinese-speaking people were walking around.
I wish there were less people. I love a museum with very few people. I guess that makes me a little selfish. Anyway, I like the glass-blowing show. They made a pitcher in about 15 minutes. Awesome show!
The only bad thing about this trip was the rain. It rained so hard when we got there, and it stopped. And, it rained again when we were about to come back. I think everybody got a good taste of glass-making and running in the rain ;)
Everybody does it
It seems that everybody does it...blogging. I've tried it a couple of times, but unsuccessful. This is just another attempt. I hope I'll have something to write from time to time.
Well...I just finished with school and have nothing much to do. Just hanging around. Of course, I've been looking and applying for a job...somewhere. But, I have to admit, the job search process is so painful. The cover letter. The resume. The letters of recommendation. And, of course, the job search itself. Not to mention...everyday, I walk up to my mailbox and think, "it could be today that I hear from somewhere," and see nothing but junk mails in there. I started to think about going home. There seems to be more job opportunities for me there. But, I guess I'll stuck here...for now.
