Tomo's Comic Version

I somehow find this is the comic version of Tomo. Let me know what you think.

Where it starts, where it ends.

“圆满” (Yuan man) is a word derived from ancient literature, and is closely related to Buddhism. It basically means consummation, satisfactory or perfection. You can say someone reached “Yuan man” when he died. The word “圆” in “圆满” also means circle, so many things are cycles around one center, such as life. As you know, there are 12 Chinese zodiac signs and you were born within one of them. Your life will be in cycles of every 12 years. It is not a bad thing to die in the year of the zodiac signs of your birth (eg. at the age of 60, 72, 84 or 96) so in a way you reach to “yuan man”.

I always expect the unexpected, such as the stuff change in the company this time. It was a big surprise but part of it was in my expectation. It was partly presented in my dream about a month before the change. I am affected by it but I know I have to overcome it in order to move on.

My manager and I had a long talk in the McCafe in a night. He is a really nice guy and he believes Buddhism. When I was sitting there, I suddenly realized it was the place we had the first chat when he was trying to introduce me into the company years ago. A circle ends where it started so I guess it has to end this way so that everyone would be better off.

HOMER IS PERFECT

HOMER RULES!!!!!

Watch Video

"HOMER IS PERFECT!"

Everybody thinks he's GREAT!
(They Do? ..Do do do do do do do do doo!)
Homer's got what it takes!

ONE TWO THREE FOUR!

(RAP)

Everybody thinks he's GREAT!
Homer's got what it takes! (Aw yeah!)
Everybody knows who... Who I'm talkin bout
Homer is just that way! (That's right!)

Everybody thinks he's GREAT! (Uh huh!)
I could watch him all day!
Everbody knows who... who I'm talkin bout
Homer is just that way! (Yeah!)

(1ST VERSE)

Homer's a funny man
Works at a power plant
He might be lazy
I like him anyway!

Maybe he's kind of LARGE
His wife's name is Marge
He hangs out at MO's
When he gets mad he says "D'oH!"

Some people don't treat him well!
But they can all go to.. SPRINGFIELD!!

(1ST CHORUS)

Homer is PERFECT!!
He really WORKS it (I work it!)
When I watch the SIMPSONS every night!
(That's right!)
I really GO NUTS!
When he eats DOUGHNUTS!
He might be slow but that's alright (Hey!)
Homer is PERFECT!

(2ND VERSE)

And when he starts to DROOL
I think it's REALLY COOL
His stomach might be big
He did the spider pig!

Maybe he's not too smart
He tries to strangle Bart (Bart!)
Might have a low I.Q.
He buys beer from APU!

He might not have too much hair!
(Yeah yeah yeah!)
But I just don't really care!

(2ND CHORUS)

Homer is PERFECT (Perfect!)
He really works it! (Work it!)
Sometimes he might not seem too bright (Hey!)
Homer is PERFECT!! (WooHoo!)
And he DESERVES IT (Deserves it!)
If he wants to watch T.V all night!

Doesn't have manners!
And I hate Flanders!
He might be a little overweight! (Ohh!)
Homer is perfect!

(BRIDGE)

And I love that guy..
In a straight kind of way!
(Homer is perfect!)
I have every show on DVD so
I can watch HIM ALL day! (You know I do!)

(HOMER SPEECH)
"Kids, you tried your best and
you failed miserably. The lesson here..
is "never try." Because trying is
the first step towards failure!"

ONE TWO THREE FOUR!

(RAP)

Everybody thinks he's GREAT!
Homer's got what it takes! (That's right!)
Everybody knows who... who I'm talkin bout
Homer is just that way! (WooHoo!)

Everybody thinks he's GREAT! (Here we go!)
I could watch him all day! (Uh huh!)
Everbody knows who... Who I'm talkin bout
Homer is just that way!

(LAST CHORUS)

Homer is PERFECT!!
He really WORKS it! (Work it!)
I watch the SIMPSONS every night! (That's right!)
I really GO NUTS!
When he eats DOUGHNUTS!
He might be slow but that's alright

Oh, Homer is PERFECT!
And he DESERVES IT (Deserve it!)
If he wants to watch T.V all day!
Homer is PERFECT (WooHoo!)
He really works it!
He is the BEST that's why I say..(Ohhh!)

That Homer is PERFECT!!
HOMER'S.. PERFECT! (You know!) (I know!)
Homer is PERFECT!

BGT

To me, the season 8 of the American Idol is finished after Norman Gentle (Nick Mitchell) was eliminated. But luckily, I still have Britain's Got Talent to keep me alive. Personally I like BGT better since it has more varieties and it is not so serious, plus Simon and Piers are my favorite judges.

So far, after the first two episodes of the third season of BGT, I remember three names, Susan Boyle, Flawless and Shaheen Jafargholi . I would say that all of them have pretty good chance to won the show. Based on previous seasons, most contestants would chose to play safe in their final performance and there won't be many changes between the semi-final and the final performance. Hence I think it all comes down to the semi-final performance to decide who the winner is going to be.

After viewing the auditions, I have made the following points:

1 It has never been a group winning the show, could Flawless break this law?
2 For both Susan Boyle and Shaheen Jafargholi , have they already given their best shot? If so, they might be just like The Signature last year who did not won the final last year. On the other hand, George Sampson brought his performance to a new level in the semi-final and he used the same routine to claim the final.


3 Shaheen Jafargholi somehow reminds me Charlie Green. Would he make the same mistake on song choice like Charlie Green last year? Shaheen Jafargholi possibly has higher chance to win the show if he was 2 years older since 12 year old might be a bit too young to grab Britain teenage girls' hearts, but I guess he is the most unpredictable one.
4 I predict Susan Boyle is going to give us another surprise in the semi-final, either good or bad. She is a character.


All right, let's get some chippy and drinks to enjoy the show.

温馨午后

我想这就是我喜欢新西兰的最重要的原因之一，只需驱车20分钟，就可以让自己置身一片绿色丛林中，在鸟语花香中享受阳光明媚的下午。

与Tomoko和Yasu在周六下午来到Manawatu峡谷。Manawatu峡谷全长6.4公里，紧邻北帕市，有一条Manawatu河贯穿整条峡谷，横断两侧的Ruahine和Tararua山脉。据说这种由河流贯穿整条峡谷的地形非常罕见，Manawatu峡谷也因此在这个区域小有名气。

Manawatu峡谷有一条登山道，普通体能的人走完全程要四个到四个半小时，山路比较容易行走，是全家户外活动的好场所。来这里许多回，除了第一次走完全程，其余只是中途折返。不是因为体能，而是山路并非环形，所以要想回来，除了在终点搭便车便只有再走上4个小时的回程。
较之澳洲的丛林，新西兰的丛林没有毒虫野兽，像个恭敬的绅士。对于我，悲伤时，迷茫时，无聊时，感受压力时，丛林便像一个避风港。即使丛林外风啸雨打，丛林内依然安详。像一个怀抱中的孩子，置身丛林另我有一种归属感，令我安然。

衣橱与棋

印象中有一本叫《菊花与刀》的书，听起来很武侠，所以我也给这篇日记起了个很酷的名字《衣橱与棋》。

结束了三周的假期，踏上北京到奥克兰的航班。直飞的航班就像小叮当的随意门，打开门后便置身于另一个世界。自己在纽西兰和中国的生活仿似国际象棋与中国象棋，虽然同是一局棋，但却遵循着不同的规则，享受不同的乐趣。回到纽西兰，需要一段时间去适应。好像象棋和围棋中的车轮大战，一名棋手面对几位对手同时下不同的棋局，每到一名对手面前，都要读棋，深思熟虑后去过招。而我更像面对两名对手的车轮大战，一局是中国象棋，另一局是国际象棋。倒是不知现实中有没有这样的比赛，如果有，一定非常有趣。

虽然是简易的，但终于有了自己的衣橱，下午还去配了三个木质衣架和三个金属衣架，然后整理好衣物。这下我的屋子便不会太乱了，至少从表面上看去。发明衣橱的人一定是个男人，很懒也很烂。将在北京购买的洗涤用的海绵送给Ange,Tomo和Yasu（因为她们说在中国会比较便宜），告诉她们要物尽其用。呵呵，我也是个很懒也很烂的男人，只是尚未有发明。

在临近结束这篇日记时，上网搜寻了一下《菊花与刀》，原来是美国学者罗斯·本尼迪克特一本关于日本的作品。嗯，关于小日本之作品怎能与吾之大作抗衡。

PS:
小：即小巧玲珑，形容词，褒义。

Petite Bourgeoisie

I finally went out with my junior high school friend who is now working in a bank. She took me to a restaurant (Chamate) near the CBD of Bei Jing. Chamate is a franchise and has many restaurants in the country. Apparently it is a very popular place for people like her. I must say that the restaurant has some sort of atmosphere and people pay the money not only enjoying the food but the atmosphere. Interesting when you look at the menu, most food are Asian style, but they are served in western style, appetizer, main, desert and drinks. It is a typical place for Petite bourgeoisie.

In China, “Petite bourgeoisie” is a popular word used to describe young people who have a new type of life style which is opposite to the Chinese traditional life style. "Petite bourgeoisie" is normally white-collar workers and they have the following characteristics:

















1 enjoy music such as jazz, classic, western pop, new age, techno and Chinese classic
2 enjoy literature
3 rich but not so rich
4 fluent at least one foreign language
5 enjoy western life style and café culture
6 into coffee, wine, tea, home making and laptops
7 enjoy backpacking
8 technologies oriented
9 into fashion
10 show no interests in politics

I would say that the bank working culture turned my friend into a Petite bourgeoisie. For my friend, she enjoys the food here. For the restaurant, they sell food and the atmosphere. But it becomes interesting when I was curious and asked the waiter where the chief is from. Since it is a Taiwanese style restaurant, I expected the chief to be a Taiwanese. Surprisingly, the waiter looked at me in a indescribable way and then slowly said: ”we do not have a chief, all the food are pre-cooked”. Aha! My understanding of this answer is that this is an Asian style McDonalds with an expensive look. So you possibly can run this restaurant with McDonalds’ staff dress in tuxedo.

Quote my friend’s description of Petite bourgeoisie’s restaurant----“expensive but small potion”. Yes, there is always a reason for its existence; so if it is not yours, do not bother to understand it. For me, may I order a big plate of sweet sour pork?













Photos from:
www.chamate.cn

The year of China

It was the biggest national event in 2008. In this goal-oriented pragmatic country, Chinese showed themselves and the rest of the world what they can achieve. When everyone sets a similar goal, China becomes unpredictable and even scary for their neighbors and westerns. Olympic was one, and now it is the economy. Where it leads to? I think China itself does not even have an answer. But at least for now, it’s pretty much all about the money.

All the Olympic stadiums become tourist attraction, to display and remember the glory of the year 2008. They are like medals hanging on China’s uniform. Just like the WW II soldiers, how much do we still remember? What about after 20 years, or 40 years, and 100 years later? But it does not matter, at least for now, Chinese people enjoy it, and crowds still around the last minute official licensed Olympic souvenir sale. The year of 2008, China caught enough eye balls and decent US dollars, the most important, Chinese people enjoyed this national celebration, so everything else…, who cares.

My Way

I think I am real lucky when making friends. From primary school till now, all my real friends are really good people and tend to be caring and trustworthy. I must say they are like gifts chosen and given by god.

I had a reunion today, 3 of them are from my junior high school and the other one is the wife of one of them. All of them have a stable job and own a property, they are making their life in this enormous city and they have never stayed outside this city for more than a month. In this way, I am very different from them, both my experience and my status. We chose different life, the life we think that is comfortable and suitable for ourselves.
We had dinner and desert in two different restaurants, they are way bigger than any restaurants or café in Palmy. Spending the same amount of money, you have various choices and great food. It was fun and exciting time. In Bei Jing, if you have a decent job and play the rules, you can live a pretty good life. But unfortunately, I am not that kind of people who can follow the rules, I am too self-centered and I enjoy my own way of life. I am just too different here and difference can be a beautiful thing in NZ but it becomes weird or abnormal here. So I believe I am not able to make a good life here, at least for the sack of my mental health, New Zealand suits me better.

Taste of Heaven

I don’t remember much about my first primary school which I only studied for a year and a half before moving to another suburb. The school no longer exists but the catholic cathedral, which was surrounded by the school, stands still. Nowadays, the catholic cathedral runs services and is a tourist attraction of Bei Jing. For me, the nature is a church; it is a place I feel god the most, a place I can actually see his amazing creation, a place I worship him in my own way.

I bought a slice of chocolate cake from a bakery near my home. It was a difficult decision to choose between chocolate cake and Tiramisu. Surprisingly, they did not use any alcohol to make Tiramisu so I did not dare to try. I am afraid I might be disappointed with it just like the Baxy rum and raisin flavored ice cream I bought previously. I don’t want it to ruin my impression of Tiramisu; so far I have never tasted a Tiramisu with awful taste. There might be many ways to reach heaven I believe, at least through church or Tiramisu.

Return to Innocence

Bei Jing to me is all about memory, especially memories from my childhood and adolescence. I like old Beijing, the time before new development took place. I particularly like the old style architectures such as “Hu Tong” and “Si He Yuan”. Some of them survived from new developments and now they have been protected by the local government as a way to remember history, remember who we are and where we are from.

I needed to drop off some documents for my mum to her previous working place, the no. 25 middle school, where I also studied for a year and a half. The school has more than one hundred and thirty years of history and you are able to find some old style architecture there. It has been changed a lot since I left but I was able to dig some of my memories out of my brain. When I was standing on the playground, looking at boys and girls running and playing, I was thinking I must be looked the same when I was at their age. The important things for them would be which NBA team is going to won the championship this year and which girl from a lower grade they are going to follow after school. It was the most memorable time of my life even though it wasn’t full of happiness.

Come out from the school, heading south, you can reach one of the oldest shopping streets of Bei Jing, the “Wang Fu Jing”. Nothing much left from the ancient time, only the newly made sculptures try to capture the old days. Forget is the start of change, of moving forward, possibly. So I picked the color of my new Crocs which I would never get before. The limited Bei Jing Olympics edition released in China which the colors of China’s national flag. Maybe I would like to try some changes, little by little.

Photos of the No. 25 Middle School

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Photos of "Wang Fu Jing"

Hot Pot

Hot pot (steam bowl) is one of my favorite food. As a child, my happiest time would be waiting for my father lighting old style metal steam bowl (flaming coal inside) before dinner. The preparation of a hot pot meal involves washing and cutting vegetables and meats, and making source. Mushrooms, fresh green leaf vegetables, tofu, fish balls, sliced lamb and beef, seafood, eggs, bean noodles and so much more can be cooked in a small steam bowl and the soup is full of flavor (sometimes can be oily). Especially in cold winter, steam bowl can be a perfect meal for a family of three as well as a large gathering. High quality materials are important for a good steam bowl meal, however traditionally, the source and the soup paste are the most important elements in the whole meal. Some commercial steam bowl restaurants use their own secretly home made source and paste to attract customers. Today’s hot pot does not have many ingredients, but the best meal I had since I come back, simple but delicious.

To Alcohol!

Many people have asked me if I like Beijing or New Zealand better. This is a difficult question to answer and possibly I am never able to answer it. But I clearly know that New Zealand life style suits me better and I enjoy the most while I am traveling and staying in New Zealand. I have left my footprint at many places, both North Island and South Island, in New Zealand; but in China, I hardly travel. It is almost a week since I have arrived Beijing, and now both my body and my mind have reaction to the environment.

I went to “Zhong Guan Cun” yesterday, a place called China’s Silicone Valley. My grandparents used to live there more than 15 years ago. In my memory, the place had a small street with about a meter deep channel on each side of the road. I used to run down to the channel and then climb up to the top, over and over again with my cousin who is a year younger. Now it becomes a modern place full of business apartments and shopping centers. “Hai Long”, one of the (possibly the oldest) electronic markets here contain thousands of small shops and you can find the latest technology products range from ipods, digital cameras to laptops. They sell those products as selling vegetables in the morning market, seasonal, cheap and fresh; but remember to bargain because most of their quotes are still overpriced especially if you are not familiar with the market price.



I bought a GPS receiver for the company. It perfectly shows how technology can invade people’s privacy (there is no privacy in Beijing anyway) and ruin our lives. Besides normal use, the product can be used in the following ways:

1 If you doubt your partner having an affair.
2 If you want to chase someone who owes your money.
3 If you want to know what your business partners or competitors are up to.
4 Of course cops can attach it with a criminal or someone who received home detention.
……….let me know if you can think about more



Great! Google knows what we are after, Amazon knows what we like, GPS knows where we are, RFID tag knows who we are, what a fantastic world to live in. I believe in the near future, there won’t be any prison and all we need is to adopt Holmer’s philosophy, “if something is hard to think about, it does not worth to think about” -------“To Alcohol!”

If there is no wind, it is a luxury thing to see blue sky. I bet the depression rate is higher here than other places that are smaller and less polluted. It is difficult to know what makes us truly happy, at least here with all the materials, I feel something missing. I definitely need to go back to bush soon….but right now I have to stay in Beijing, a giant machine.

I start missing New Zealand.