The Big Dig

This past Sunday I had the funniest ice cream in my life. For some reason the Ritz decided to put 14 scoops of ice cream and random toppings (including gummy bear) in a truck that dips (hence the towel underneath it). Unfortunately, we didn't get to keep the truck, but we did get to keep the helmet -- it's currently on my desk in the lab. Interestingly, I was the only one that took the helmet with me.

I enjoyed the event, and the truck was good since I have always liked cars in general, but I think I would have liked it even more if the ice cream were to come in a pirate ship....

The Rise of the Rhino

It was 3:38 in a breezy afternoon. I was one foot behind the endline, feeling that the entire world is watching me. I had already have a couple of nice serves which helped our team to take the lead for the first time in two sets. It was also the set point (14-13).

"This is gonna be the defining moment of my life, " I thought, as I prepared to do a safe underhand serve.

And I hit the ball to the net.

Fortunately, my teammates picked me up and we won the second set. The other team kind of collapsed in the third set, which we won easily.

It's definitely a great day -- winning the first game of the Rhino League this year!

Bill Gates

(It's 10pm on Sunday evening -- I finally got sometime to sit down, do laundry, listen to some music, read TIME, and write some random stuff...)

"Dad, I always told you I’d come back and get my degree."

Bill Gates gave a speech at the Harvard Commencement last Thur (and received an honorary degree). It was a great talk. He talked about his experience at Harvard, how he dropped out during his junior years and founded Microsoft, and his current and ongoing endeavor in helping the poor and in need, and to "solve inequity". As a firm believer in capitalism, he argued that we should create market forces which would drive people to saving lives:

"We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism – if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the worst inequities."

Those are really great points (and coincidentally, that was exactly what my favorite econ professor David Hemenway said), and it's great to have someone as smart and rich to stand out and speak out for those whose voice are otherwise unheard. However, those are not the words that really touched my heart. As someone who has yet to develop his professional career, I found Bill Gate's words on Harvard experience to be more inspiring:

"What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence."

which leads to:

"Members of the Harvard Family: Here in the Yard is one of the great collections of intellectual talent in the world.

What for?"

Yes, what for?

"When you consider what those of us here in this Yard have been given – in talent, privilege, and opportunity – there is almost no limit to what the world has a right to expect from us."

One might find the above actually matches well with the central dogma in Spidey movies. But seriously...there were times in which I would ponder: What really is it that make me unique? After all, nature and nurture, talent and educational resources, are all given by my parents. Then what really is it that make it worthwhile?

Sometimes it's easier to look at other people to learn what you really think.

I have always admire/respect people who spend more time thinking about how to fulfill their dreams than how to earn a living easily, who are passionate and ambitious, who are not afraid to throw themselves in the deep end and try to figure out a way to not drown.

And I think my answer lies in these qualities.

The Simpsons and I

Pride: A Review

(This is about a Japanese drama, and unfortunately I am going to write in Chinese -- sorry for those who can't read it!)

"只要站在冰上,這些煩惱就都煙消雲散了"

前陣子把這齣以冰上曲棍球為主題的日劇看完了。原本以為會是類似美式的那種運動勵志片，看了之後才知道，這部戲對ice hockey這種運動本身著墨不多，重點反在於對於那一群大男孩對這運動的執著，彼此之間的友誼，以及我所不怎欣賞的愛情故事。是不是冰上曲棍球，倒反而顯的不是那麼重要了。

先從愛情故事開始講起好了。裡面的三個女孩，一個出現的次數很少，另一個是想找有錢人的百合，最後一個自然是深為大家所喜愛的竹內結子。理所當然的，戲裡的愛情故事，自以木村和竹內兩人之間為重。然而，縱使竹內結子是多麼地美麗聰慧，冰上的那幾幕是拍地多麼地唯美，我卻是一點都沒被感動到。竹內結子從頭到尾大都只是被動地在等待，在場邊加油吶喊，默默地掙扎與付出。相較而言，在"大和敗金女"一劇裡，一語道破男主角回到日本開魚店只不過是因為自己懦弱害怕，之後又直接飛去princeton找男主角的松島菜菜子，可愛地太多了。

我好像太嚴苛了一些--或許,我只是不欣賞總是認為自己很平凡的女孩吧？

(to be continued...)

Game Log: Squash

I think my performance in squash might not have that much to do with body fat, but how much I sleep. I have been having late night snacks quite often lately, and I guess I had gain some weight, yet today I had my most dominating games in a while. And I slept till noon today.

I played 7 games. I Cruised through nearly every game except the 6th one (9:1, 9:5, 9:4, 9:1, 9:5, 5:9, 9:1). My hits were fairly strong and accurate -- many of them were just one inch above the lower line, and my volleys were good, too. Moreover, I discovered a new motion on my throwing hand during serving. An extra twist came naturally, and the entire motion became more compact and smooth. And it looks cool, too.

Meanwhile, Captain Intangible (Derek Jeter) just hit a homer off a hanging slider from Joel Pineiro -- that kind of thing happens all the time when you play MLB 2K7 -- and the Sox is now trailing 5 to 6...not a good time to do blogging, I guess.

Airport

I've always liked going to the airport. Either travel by myself, or just see others travel. It makes you feel that there is so much to explore on this planet.

Of course, there's something more about going to the airport than just appreciating the world. For example, I drove a friend to the airport three days ago to pick up her boyfriend, and it was a joy to see them meet. Nevertheless, picking up someone that you miss, is what makes you really happy.

On April 6 -- two days after my birthday -- I went to the airport to pick up one of my 1st tier friends plus my best friend from the lab. I had been in a bad shape and fooling around in the lab with two important deadlines looming back then -- it was so great to see her coming out from the gate at the international terminal. After a warm hug, she asked me how was my birthday, to which I replied "sadly romantic". She was like "oh! that's what I missed! it's so shuhsien -- only shuhsien will say things like that!" She was so right. And it was so nice to have her back.