假期...

千呼萬喚始出來 .... 我終於等到老闆到邁亞米去度假, 我終於自由了!! 雖然只是短短的五個星期, 而且還得繼續寫我的論文和德州交通部的研究工作, 可是老闆不在, 我們就沒有那麼多的約束, 開會準時出席, 該做的事做好就行了.

今天早上睡到日上三竿, 才心不甘情不願的起身. 這是這幾個月以來第一次可以睡這麼久, 也是這麼久以來第一次有這個需要. 覺得好累, 尤其是過去的兩個星期, 老闆快要去度假, 就拼命地把他之前不願意完成的工作趕完. 城門失火, 殃及池魚.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille!!~~

I went to watch the matinee show today with JC, NW, PA and AM. We didn't expect any crowd since Ratatouille premiered last Friday. However, we were wrong. There wasn't a crowd for Ratatouille, but there was a huge crowd for Transformer. We were in line for the ticket for about 20 minutes. When we got our ticket, it was around 2 pm and the ticket for Transformer was sold out all the way till 4.35 pm show.

Overall, the movie was superb, it was beyond what I had expected. The animation was excellent and I love the way that the animators paid attention to minute details. Some might consider the story line to be a common one, but for me, the important thing is, how you tell the story, not what is the story. I worked in a dining hall and I know a little about the equipment in a kitchen. It was amazing to me the way the animators put the equipment to 'work' toward the end of the movie. The scene with the dishwasher and the act in the kitchen that follows, I was cracking up very hard.

I love Ratatouille, especially the main characters: Remy and his brother Emile. They were hilarious. I had a good time with Ratatouille and I am seriously considering watching it again and buying the DVD when its in the market. That's how much I love the movie.

Transformer

NW, JC and I went to watch Transformer matinee show today. NW is big transformer fans, JC is HUGE transformer fans. So you can imagine what it felt like to go with two fanatics on the first day of the showing. JC was actually thinking of going to the Monday midnight show, but because we have Toastmaster meeting on Tuesday morning at 6.30 and he has to give a speech, so he decided against it. The funny thing is, the matinee show wasn't as crowded as we expected, there was still a good crowd, but it wasn't that bad till we can't get three seats together.

As for the review of the movie, I think I can safely skip that in my blog, since there are already too many reviews by other movie-goers on the Internet. All I will say is, it is an OK movie but I love it, the special effects are superb and the main actress is hot. I know that it sounds confusing, "Its OK but I love it" but that's how I felt after coming out of the theater.

However, JC LOVED the movie. When we got out of the theater, he had to rush to the restroom because he refused to step out during the movie and miss any part of the movie. On our way back, I can see the sparkle in his eyes, like a little kid who just found a new and exciting toy and couldn't let go of it. I remembered watching Transformer cartoon, but I do not recall all the details of the cartoon. He was keeping me update with all the characters in the movie, like Optimus Prime, Bumble Bee, Megatrone, Decepticons etc. So, I got some education on Transformer on my way back.

Kalama Sutta

Saw a posting on EY's blog on this. Just remembered that I came across something similar and saved it on my computer a while back. This is the version I came across.

Do not believe in anything (simply) because you have heard it.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many.
Do not believe in anything (simply) because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with your reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all then accept it and live up to it.

Buddha Angettara Nikaya
Vol. I, 188-193 P.T.S. Ed

Happy Birthdays!!!

I am a lazy person. This is a statement and not a question. Since you guys knew that very very well already, I am going to take a 'detour' with my birthday wishes then. Here they are:

April 12
Happy Birthday KY!
Now that you are no longer 21, how's that feel? I bet its not that big deal anymore. :) Did you get your dad to pay off you loan?? hahaha..... good luck with that!

April 13
Happy Birthday Sally!
By the way, where are you now? I am pretty sure that you are unaware of the existence of this blog. But it doesn't matter, I just wanted to wish you all the best in whatever you are doing now. The courage you mustered to drop everything on hand and to pursue your dream really impressed me. Never thought of you as one of those people when we were back in high school. Happy birthday to you!

April 14
Happy Birthday Helen!
Hope that everything is moving well for you.

April 16
Happy Birthday JJ!
Where's my oil painting?? Is it still in your mind? hehehe......

April 17
Happy Birthday LP!
I don't like to gossip, but I think I will call up CNN and Fox News to spread the word that you got a new house in where-is-that-again? Joking.... (:

What a week.........

心情雜記

今天早起, 原本想到實驗室一趟, 把一些未完成的文件弄好, 星期二就可以交貨了. 起身後往窗外一望, 車子還是被四吋厚的雪覆蓋着. 看著這一情景, 想到我必須要除去車子上的雪, 我就提不起勁出門了. 昨天大清早下了一場雪, 整天的氣溫停留在零度C 左右, 所以到了今天雪都還沒溶化. 看了今天的氣象預測, 氣溫應該會升到七度左右, 希望明天早上車上的雪就會溶完了. 我喜歡雪, 喜歡下着雪的時候到外面走走. 可是當我已經把所有冬天的衣服收起來了才下雪, 我就很懶得出去了.

因為天氣冷, 地上還累積着雪, 這整個週末我總覺得懶懶的, 提不起勁來做些我該做的事. 昨天早上原本想到 Driving Range 一趟, 可是因為下雪, 就打消念頭了; 又想到書店逛一逛, 可是想到要鏟雪, 我又懶了. 最後我就待在家里, 看了幾齣戲: 霸王別姬, Sabrina(1995), Full Monty 和 Casino Royale. 現在明白了, 原來看戲看多了, 也是會累的, 尤其是沒有間斷的看.

今天早上決定了不去實驗室後, 就上網閒逛, 左看右看的, 想著既然沒事做, 不如就到自己的部落格塗鴉塗鴉. 最近, 我發現到我的部落格記載的東西, 大部分都是身邊所發生的事情, 很少文章是和自己的心情有關. 曾經有人告訴我, 我的部落格很沒有 "個人的味道", 冰冷冷的, 感覺不到我的個人情緒和心情, 看到的只是我身邊所發生的事情. 所以我今天就決定要寫一寫我的心情, 那就是, 我現在很無聊, 同時也在享受著無聊所帶來的樂趣.

Happy Birthday L.B., Ph.D., UE

Today's LB birthday. We decided to celebrate his birthday yesterday, since that's the day when everyone in the LSS group is here. We got him a cake and a homemade T-shirt (sounded like food -- homemade). I went to Market Street on Wednesday evening to get a chocolate cake. I requested the employee to write on the cake "Happy Birthday L.A.B., Ph.D., UE" in pink. The lady showed a quizzical look when she saw the word UE. So I told her that stands for Umemployed. She was laughing really hard, and I was thinking, "Hey, don't laugh too hard when you are writing, you could mess up the cake." After she was done with the writing, she told her colleague the UE thing, and I can see that her colleague was laughing too. Oh well, LB was the one who came up with the UE acronym.

This is a snapshot of what we had on the T-shirt for him.

It was quite an adventure in getting his gift ready, and hilarous too. I went to the SP Mall on Wednesday to check out the little booth that (used to) provides T-shirt printing services, and found out that they were out of business. I checked the yellow pages for T-shirt printing companies, visited their websites and found out that most of those websites were just a one-page website, i.e. just the main page with their phone, fax number and address. Then I called a number of companies and shops on Thursday morning. They were either too expensive for us, or they plainly (and politely) told me that they don't do screen printing for just one unit. So we resolved to buy some Print 'n Press - Iron On Transfer Paper and DIY on Thursday afternoon.

AG was suggesting a pink shirt, NW was for baby blue, SC was suggesting a purple, PA was for grey. We got an ash grey, cause PA was the one getting the shirt. PA went to HobbyLobby and got the T-shirt and transfer paper, then went home to get her iron. PA and AG will work on the T-shirt. LB had to teach a class from 12:30 ~ 1:50 p.m. After his class, NW went out for lunch with him and J. We told NW to keep him there at the restaurant until we call her. Meanwhile, I went over to SUB to get a birthday card.

When I got back from the SUB, PA and AG were in a 'crisis'. They were ready to iron on, then they figured out that they need to mirror the words, or else it will not show up right. They were trying to figure out how to mirror the words and they were having a hard time getting it right. With a little help here and there, we figured it out. We ironed the correct one on the back of the shirt. Then we thought, since we already printed the other one incorrectly, we might as well just ironed it on the front. And so we did it, right here in our office.

The whole process was hilarious, with Dr JLS sitting there on one of the student's desk, watching the whole 'show' and timing for us when we did the ironing. We were in a hurry to get it done, we were concerned that NW might not be able to retain LB in the restaurant long enough, we were eager to see the result. But, after all, we all had fun, lots of them.

Good thing that LB liked it, well, at least he showed that he liked it. Else, I would have smacked him. HAHA. Anyway, Happy Birthday Dr. LAB.