Pecking Order

pecking order - the social hierarchy in a flock of domestic fowl in which each bird pecks subordinate birds and submits to being pecked by dominant birds; a hierarchy among a group, as of people, classes, or nations

A researcher had said two years ago that China would become the No 2 in the world's economic pecking order in 2018.

Martin is quite high in the pecking order these days.

To clamber up the pecking order, he slaves away nights and weekends at the office.

There's a clearly established pecking order in this office.

He started as a clerk but gradually rose in the pecking order.

Let's Get Red

Houston Rockets is now on the verge of squeezing himself into the second round of NBA play-off, but apparently Blazer doesn't want to succumb in the red occean. Leading the game 3-2, and with Game 6 due on April 30, it's going to be another intense match. Will Yao spell his mojo in the red ocean again? Or will the rockets fail to soar at home? Answers are just hours away. For now, just get red!

Give Somebody a Piece of Your Mind

give sb a piece of your mind, INFORMAL
to speak angrily to someone about something they have done wrong:

I'm going to give that mechanic a piece of my mind if the car's not fixed this time.

"No, I've never seen one," said a local farmer. "Thank goodness, because if I had they would certainly have got a piece of my mind."

Epidemic or Pandemic?

Now the buzz word is swine flu, and two associated words - epidemic and pandemic. So what is the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic? Luckily, I found the answer on wiseGEEK within a few clicks. To put it simply, pandemic > epidemic.

Here is the explanation in full, a bit long but worth reading.

Epidemics and pandemics refer to the spread of infectious diseases among a population. The difference between an epidemic and a pandemic is two-fold. First a pandemic is normally used to indicate a far higher number of people affected than an epidemic, and a pandemic refers to a much larger region affected. In the most extreme case, the global population is affected by a pandemic.

An epidemic is defined by an illness or health-related issue that is showing up in more cases than would be normally expected. However, in the case of a pandemic, even more of the population is affected than in an epidemic.

Let's take a hypothetical example and assume several people contract the same flu-like symptoms in a particular area. Let's further assume that cases show up across the state, but the concentration remains localized in a few original cities. Some cases even turn up elsewhere in the nation, but the illness doesn't catch on elsewhere. In the hubs where it is seen the infection rate remains more than you would expect to normally see. This is a classic example of an epidemic.

Now let's take that same scenario but imagine the rate of infection started growing exponentially so that more and more cases were cropping up locally. When the rate of infection grows very fast it is likely, given favorable circumstances, that the epidemic grows into something more. Now we start seeing cases across the nation and the rate of infection is exceeding even that of an epidemic. It turns out in our hypothetical scenario that most of the population in the nation becomes affected by this flu. This is a pandemic.

To put a finer point on it, if the entire nation was affected but the rate of incidence never rose above that of an epidemic, it would still be considered an epidemic, even though the disease was nationwide.

Conversely, you might have a small population in a remote area of Africa, for example, that is nearly 100% affected by an illness or health problem. Because the incidence is so high, and the area relatively widespread in that it is affecting an entire population, this could be termed pandemic.

You can see with these subtle but significant differences how the terms might be confusing, but normally epidemics that grow out of hand due to the nature of the disease and other factors, turn into pandemics.

A pandemic may be regionally localized if it involves more cases than a simple epidemic; and an epidemic may be widespread if not enough of the population is affected to term it pandemic. Though in this latter case, you might still see it termed pandemic by some, just because the geographical area is so widespread.

Misnomer

On the news: The World Organisation for Animal Health said on Monday that the name swine flu is a misnomer as the deadly virus has origins among birds and humans as well as pigs.

misnomer
noun [C]
a name that does not suit what it refers to, or the use of such a name:

It was the scruffiest place I've ever stayed in, so 'Hotel Royal' was a bit of a misnomer.

It's something of a misnomer to refer to these inexperienced boys as soldiers.

酒桶

某人上周买了一坛好酒放在小院走廊上。

第二天他发现少了五分之一，便在酒桶上贴了“不许偷酒”四个字。

第三天，酒又少了五分之二，他非常生气又贴了“偷酒者重罚”五个字。

第四天，酒还是被偷，只剩下了五分之一，他的肺都快气炸了。

好友知道了此事，就对他说：“笨蛋！你不会在酒桶上贴上【尿桶】二字，看谁还偷喝?”

他觉得挺有道理，就照办了。

第五天他哭了。

桶满了…

Swine Flu is Here

After rounds of unmerciful baptism of avian flu, we have got something new here -- swine flu. Swine flu is technically more virulent than its avian congener as it would transmit from human to human via your everyday coughing and spitting. The good news amid nowaday combined glooms - economic meltdown and swine influenza - is that we are now better prepared and equiped to deal with these threats, be it pathologically or economically.

A Broken Vitas Dream

We were there, but we were barred from entering a stadium packed with feverish audience, where Vitas was holding his first-ever concert in Guangzhou. Ticket scalpers downed dramatically this time compared to 李宇春's concert in March. Unfortunately, we failed to reexperience the victory we had last time and were left "ticketless" after an hour-long ticket hunt. Zoe said that was a real-life lesson of supply-and-demand, and I couldn't agree more.

Though we had a shitty experience, the subsequent events that night somewhat made up Zoe's disappointment and reoriented her on a happy track. What were the events? Top secret only between Dennis and Zoe. =)

Shit is Not Everything

Sorry about this disgusting topic... 好多朋友以为shit等于中文的“屎”，其实不然。今天就让我们看看形形式式的屎。

耳屎= ear wax (我不知道大家的耳屎是不是蜡状的。。。耳朵好像分油耳和旱耳的吧。。然后今天碰巧看到，耳屎的医学名称叫cerumen，这个词就算了。。看看就够。)

眼屎= sleep (英文的眼屎其实就是 sleep。。。没想到吧)

鼻屎: booger - dried状 / snot - slippery状 (比较恶心的物体，不过记记这两个单词，总有一天会come in handy.)

人的屎: stool (这个才是我们拉出来的屎，shit原意是指狗拉出来的屎。。。不要搞混了。比如你上街不小心踩到狗屎，你就可以大叫 I'm shitty today! 这里的shitty 表示 unfortunate, unpleasant，不过在广州市区比较难踩到shit，所以如果你有幸踩到，一定要抓紧机会用出shitty这个词！)

Muffin-Top

What's muffin-top? No textual explanation. This picture says it all!A very lively English word! In Cantonese, we call this "腩鱼肚". XD

Also, love handlers and belt overhang are words that have the same meaning of muffin-top.

English Jokes

Ok, brace yourself for a hearty lol... photo time! Anyway, this gallery is also a warning/shame to us.

Promoting murder?


Speechless...


Rr.... No may reclaim, how about Yes?



Stunning sign!


Only in China...


The work of a nonhuman translator?



No kidding...


My goodness! It's hard to misspell China and Beijing. But they did it perfectly.

Money Gallery

Sorry to say I don't really know these in-print guys, except the one on buck and the late Chinese leader, but they are no doubt work of arts!

Just One Last Dance

Airing background music would help boost your endurance during your gym time, according to a scientific research. Saddly the music is not supposed to be helpful to your nightly bed time though. Anyway, I've changed my gym time background music to Just One Last Dance today, as the song name kinda resembling "just one last lift (of my dumbbells). XD... Besides, Sarah is hot!

Click here to listen to Just One Last Dance

Two Instant Hits

Susan Boyle & Paul Pott

Amaze The World

With Their Voices

Put Out to Pasture

put out to pasture - to make someone stop working at their job because they are too old to be useful. Etymology: based on the tradition of keeping farm animals that are too old to work in a pasture. (land covered with grass)

Examples:

Please don't put me out to pasture. I have lots of good years left.

This vice president has reached retirement age. It's time to put him out to pasture.

At 62, he felt he was not ready to be put out to pasture.

He felt he was still too young to be put out to pasture.

锤一个/Hammer it

From this day forward, we have a secret code between us -- 锤一个, or hammer it!

Zoe, make the best of it!

Zoe, I Love You

Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.
Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you. Zoe, I love you.

足迹

我遇见谁 会有怎样的对白
我等的谁 会在多远的未来
我看到谁 在挣扎着要离开
我听见谁 在绝望中受伤害
我排着队 紧握爱的号码牌
我邂逅你 是最美丽的意外
我赶着路 发现出口有点窄
我往前飞 越过一片时间海
总有一天 所有谜底会揭开

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

Oh Jesus, this movie is marvelous. Live Free or Die Hard delivers actions in abundance, not trivial ones, but all in breathtaking ways! Some of the fighting scenes are memorable, like the one showing John McClane beating an Asian kung-fu bitch to death. The script also contributes its effect, featuring a bunch of hackers attempting to control the computer-powered world, which makes the flick further enticing. The only defect seems to be all those tech-talk, too much for the IT-unintelligent I mean. Believe me, you will be positively surprised by this bald guy.

Independence Day (1996)

It's very interesting to see earthling confront intrusive alien creatures in a blockbuster way. Actually, I'm personally in favor of this kind of theme, though I really have no idea why everyone else thinks so poorly of this flick. The dialogues were lame maybe, but the acting was decent and Will Smith, to say the least, has done his job faultlessly, plus the special effects were amazing in the standards of 19th century.

Independence Day is not monumental, but a well-produced popcorn movie, a good waste of time!

What a New Semester

At the beginning of an academic year：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－　　
After one week：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－　　
After two weeks：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Before mid-semester exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
During mid-semester exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
One day after midsemester：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Before final exam:

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Being told the time of final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Seven days before final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Six days before final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Five days before final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Four days before final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Three days before final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Two days before final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
One day before final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
The evening before final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
One hour before final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
During final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
After final exam：

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Revenge on those responsible... teachers!

Shot-Cut Discovered

I found a short-cut to my company this morning, which saved me about 5 minutes on foot. I'm very satisfied with this trivial finding in fact. Life is all about discoveries, if you cease discovery, you would stand still like a pool of dead water. With that said, cheer yourself up for your daily discovery, no matter how trivial your finding is. After all, you will feel like hitting a jackpot when all those trivial discoveries add up one day later in your life.

Blizzard Theme Park Design

Very creative Blizzard theme park design! I sincerely hope Blizzard would consider establishing an entertainment park in Guangzhou, after all, I like Starcraft and Diable way more than Mickey Mouse.

Weekly Chinese Gains

至死不渝的爱情。

长相厮守

山无棱，天地合，乃敢与君绝。

山有森兮木有枝，心悦君兮君不知。(无敌粤译：山有树，树有枝(知)；我中意你，你唔知!）

注释：兮(xī)，古代诗辞赋中的助词。

辞赋 = 古代一种文体，起源于战国时代。

赋(fù)，赋予 = bestow, confer

以飨(xiǎng)读者

臭名昭著，声名狼藉

分庭抗礼

English Words

bet the ranch/farm
to risk everything you have because you are certain of something.

No matter how confident you are in the future, you should never bet the farm on one idea.

TV networks are obviously willing to bet the ranch on special sports events - they paid millions to broadcast the Olympics.

take for a ride
1. to deceive someone.

You really took those people for a ride. They really believed you.

I was taken for a ride on this matter.

2. to take away and murder a person. (Underworld.)

Mr. Big told Dennis to take Ring for a ride.

benchmark
to measure (a rival's product) according to specified standards in order to compare it with and improve one's own product.

Benchmarking the competition is not the only way to get into an excessively crowded market.

Shoddy Lydia

Well, it's hard to get a job in today's over-competitive labor market. So even sacrificing one's look is considered acceptable for a job. A man transfigured himself to look like Lydia in order to get himself a job as a shoddy late celebrity, a very very risky move indeed.

I'm speechless when reading this news. What I want to tell the would-be-graduate is, it's a wild jungle out there, prepare yourself. And some of y0u might have to deform your externals, for a job.

Ong Bak 2 (2008)

Ong Bak 2 is a completely different film than Jaa's earlier works Ong Bak or Tom Yum Goong. Anyone expecting actions at the same level of Ong Bak or Tom Yum Goong will be somewhat disappointed. (Yup, I'm one of those feeling disappointed.) This is a whole different kind of movie really. Rarely does Tony Jaa show off the flips that made him famous. The story line is a little bit convoluted, and seems without a proper end (paving the way for a sequel?). I rather prefer the simple plot of Ong bak, after all, what our audiences expect is plenty of brutal fist fighting out of Tony Jaa. Well, I think Tony need to hire a good script writer for the sequel, Ong Bak 3?

Sniper (2009)

Edison Chen is back as a supporting rolein Sinper since the mind-numbing picture scandal occurred last year. This movie demonstrates fierce battles between snipers, a real treat to your eyes. Undoubtedly the show belongs to the ensemble cast in oozing machismo as they do battle, but I can't help but to blame Edison for the blot he cast on the show. His poker face made me sick, and his lips pursing in a terribly weird angle to display brashness had largely succeeded, but still sucked.

Anyway, I confess I hate this guy... better put him into an icebox for the rest of his life. Out of sight, out of mind.

Sa Dingding

Sa Dingding, a female singer who garnered Radio 3 Awards for World Music in Asia/Pacific session, is remarkable in any way. Her voice is penetrating and her appearance literally resembles a fairy. Ok, let's cut the blah blah blah and get down to her first album. (well, you might need a translator on standby)

Madagascar (2005)

Well, another movie I reviewed recently through VOD. Why I bother to write this piece is because, first, writing is really a great way to kill time; secondly, I saw some mixed reviews to this animated film and felt obligated to say something about it. On imdb.com, some of the reviews praised the movie as a bright, happy, and delightful to eyes and ears, nevertheless, the negative reviews were not less in quantity. A spate of comments said the film was just moderately funny and in no way worth spending money for a screen view. Very confusing huh?

My take on this movie is... is... hmm... searching for a phrase to fit the situation... well... it's coming out... yup... one moment... almost there... you got it... is... is second to none! =)

So what's your take buddy?

Mission Impossible (1996)

Yesterday night I watched Mission Impossible again using my idiot box. The disk stealing plot was still amazing even judging by the current standard of amazement, featuring a group of four managing to beat a set of state-of-the-art systems with the help of some spy techniques. Mission Impossible is really better than most action films out there, because it actually keeps a believable plot without throwing in some excessively supernatural hero(s), like Spider Man, Hell Boy, Fantasy Four or Iron Man... (sorry, I don't think Iron Man could be possibly produced before my righteous soul resting in paradise) It is believable and memorable. I bet the memory of the disk stealing scenario is still fresh in your head now, even after a deacde. Nothing to say anymore, a classic.

Dennis & Zoe VS Scalpers

This post is a recap!

My first concert experience finally rested on 李宇春(sorry, I don't know her English name), after Zoe repeatedly pushing me for a peek. The overall experience was good to a concert newcomer, and the ticket was not dazzlingly pricy. But let's put aside all of 李宇春's performance, bcuz what kept me in high spirit was how me and Zoe dealt with various scalpers and stole a victory at last.

At first we met a scalper selling two fake concert tickets at 50RMB, thanks to Zoe's sixth sense and affluent purchasing experience, we beat him with no sweat. Then we killed time by wandering here and there looking for a bargain. The scalpers were not fools and stood against us firmly in terms of ticket prices. But you know what the ending was, their strength waned as the time passed and we finally snatched up two sweet tickets after about 20 minutes into the concert.

Well, I think we will need to play the same game soon... as VITAS will be holding his first Guangzhou concert on April 25 at Guangzhou Gymnasium.

That would be another momentous night.

The Gap Between Us

See the difference between us...

By Wordmonger Dennis
Dennis，广州人，长一脸黑云压寨容，二十有七而志于学，携MBA双学位（Married But Available & Memory Below Average），自小有恋网癖，浸淫互联网十来载，并非水性杨花只是有点多元化，自诩英文得道，殊不知二零零一年被托尔金（J.R.R. Tolken）击得体无完肤，后立誓熟读英伦三味。经常在众乐乐之时独坐冰冷的电脑桌前埋头苦干。囊中羞涩不足以形容D的经济状况，D现正处于无立锥之地，至贫也。

By Wordsmith Zoe
Dennis， 百粤人士，时年二十有七，生得一脸黑云压寨之容。于弱冠之年始志于学，至今已携MBA双学位（Married But Available & Memory Below Average）。自幼恋网成癖，尝诩英文颇通。至二零零一年读得托翁（J.R.R. Tolken）巨著，心醉神驰，竟至坐卧不宁！终觉所学甚浅，后立誓研习英伦三味，不求闻达诸侯，但求开心明智。故虽家徒四壁但端坐电脑桌前亦是有大自在！

Black Wednesday

It's bad! We suffered from a "conversionless" day Black Wednesday! The ad copy was close to impeccable; ad clicking was coming like torrents and the website was of superior quality. Everything was under control and well-adjusted. But one thing was missing, the conversion! Not a single conversion was registered today as we sat through in front of the a row of twinkling computers.

Being in low spirits, one tagline came to my mind in a soothing way:" We try, God decides!" But in this internet age, that line should come in the form of "We try, customers decide!"

House Hunting Game

Yesterday me and Zoe together with her elder sister were off on a game of house hunting. The first half of the game went on pretty smoothly as we visited a fantasy duplex apartment located near Sun Yat-Sen University as planned. After treating our eyes with some grand structural art, we started to grope for another high-rise building, which loomed in the distance.

Following Zoe's (or my) senseless direction, we pushed ourselves into an alley that led us twistingly to somewhere we had absolutely no idea about. After around 30 minutes painful trekking, we finally arrived at the place! It turned out that we had done something impossible! We travelled back to the place where we initially departed. We had completed an excursion equivalent of the length of 4 bus stations on our fatigued feet.

Hmm... we were lost... in a boisterous village surrounded by a money-driven city.

Well, forget to tell you guys, we played the game all day long, but got no "prey". After all, house hunting has never been a duck soup. Brace yourself for a touch game... in the days/weeks/months to come.

Few New Words Learned

It's not as if the Chinese have been parsimonious. In the past decade or so, retail sales have been growing at a frenetic pace, the market for luxury goods has witnessed the highest growth in the world, cars have become commonplace and property prices driven to stratospheric levels.

“money borrowed at today's stratospheric rates of interest.”

People salt money away for children's education, medical bills and retirement.

The farmer's wife salted a lot of fish and hams away for the winter.

First Visit to Zoe's Hometown

The time has finally come. After a total of 18 months of get-together, among which 9 months as a staid supervisor and 9 months as a happiness-producing soul mate, I will soon be on my maiden journey to Zoe's hometown. I don't know what to expect but my heart is filled with excitement at this very moment. My ultimate goal of this trip is to marry my lifelong lover Zoe and bring her perpetual felicity under my wholehearted care.

This post will be updated frequently throughout my odyssey. God, bless me please, but I love Zoe more than you, sorry. =)

Update @ 9:38, March 28.

Tonight I will be on a sleeper compartment heading for Jiangxi. I've packed my stuff, a real lot, and I think carrying them is going to be a huge burden on my back and shoulders, but who cares, I'm on my way to meet my mother-in-law! Hours later I would be shopping gifts for them, hope they will be impressed by my honesty and true love to Zoe.

Update @ 14:20, March 28.

Off I go! Shopping rats are going to "bite" a vial of perfume and an electronic razor. The backpack is back-breaking, so to speak, even though the weight of a 10-inch notebook is still not counted. God knows if the laptop will be the last straw that breaks the camel's back. Anyway, hope I will not get a hump after the voyage.

Update @ 11:30, March 29.

The night on sleeper compartment was agonizing, as forecast by Zoe right upon seeing some babies perching merrily in the compartment. The whole night was shot through with sporadic baby cries, which effectively intercepted our nightly rest and drove Zoe mad to the point that she wanted to join the crying party herself! What's worse, the narrow upper bed didn't offer anything other than ordeal. I tried some sleeping poses but none could ensure me even the least comfort. Whatever, we slowly drifted into sleep after some late-night sweet talks with Zoe, and spent a full night on this high-speed train.

When I was violently roused from sound sleep by a light overhead, we were close to our destination, miles away from Nanchang. Zoe called me up so we could catch some rural views outside the train window. The views didn't quite impress me though some of them were indeed new to me.

Finally we were in Nanchang, after 13 hours of painful train ride. We first sped to Zoe's university by bus and had a complete walk-through, while along the way Zoe vividly recalled her memories of campus days. Her university was not magnificent, I used to think she must have spent 4 years in a grand institution, instead, it was an oridnary one mixed with residential housing.

After her university tour, we then whisked to People's Park, a real big one with innumerable people holding various lively activities. The park's serene view soothed me so much and produced an ultimate calmness in my heart. And we took pictures at a blind date party involved millions of candidates held in the park, which was quite novel to us, though no creative resume was spotted during our vigorous lookout.

Two mischievous photos we took at the blind date party.

Now we are at a KFC waiting for Zoe's uncle to pick us up... No internet access here and Zoe's asleep, quite boring... >_<

Update @ 23:30, March 29.

After a packed schedule today, I'm going to hit a warm sack, with Zoe's younger brother. I've gone through too many things today to be nicely listed here, including but not limited to my first-ever hoeing... It's late and drowsiness has successfully crept into my eyelids, so I'm not going to write anything further. Let me wrap up today and go ZZZzzz now...

Update @ 11:25, March 30.

I'm now sitting in front of my BENQ notebook, working on a new website project, err... I should say "has been working on it for a few hours." Still in its initial stage, a hell lot of work ahead, just keep up Dennis!

Update @ 10:26, March 31.

The end of March! Another busy morning! I got up early today to surf Internet in case I will be away from keyboard the whole noon, also in case Zoe will come occupy the notebook for her relentless idol hunting.

Last night I met Zoe's high school classmates and had a yummy night-time snacks. Though their language was Greek to me, I could still get myself involved most of the time. But language is really a barrier for an outsider, so to speak, like the case when you put Zoe right into a group of Cantonese, and I bet she would just be as dull as me.

Update @ 10:26, April 1.

(The part of Archaic Village tour was temporarily skipped and will be on later)

My stomach suffered heavy vomiting after rounds of forced drinking last night in a hilarious get-together, which in fact was yet another standard test for my fitness to be Zoe's lifelong partner. No matter how you slice it, last night was momentous to me. I got the green light from Zoe's distinctive relatives, and most of all, I passed her mom's final exam, after a hearty exchange. Marriage is no longer a mirage. The road ahead is clear and clean, and our goal is reachable.

Zoe, let's start a new journey of life!

Update @ 9:43, April 2.

Half of my trip was spent, with only 3 days left enjoying a tranquil life, as well as a no-haste, no-competition and pressureless environment. I'm so relaxed during my stay in Zoe's hometown. People are nice and hospitable here. The cold weather has done actually nothing to weaken all those warm hearts. Zoe's uncle drove me around and described probably everything fresh in detial along the way. To some degree, a fondness for Anyi has been kindly sown into my soul, but I was by no means enchanted by the place, but by a pure soul who decided to love a man that is largely unnoticed and hard-up now.

Update @ 14:43, April 4.

The week-long Anyi trip has ended with a merry tone, as we left a rural paradise for a hysteric metropolis on Sat. It's time to get realistic. There is actually no point to compare Guangzhou with Anyi, since they vary in a great many ways and have their own attractive distinctions. Yes, you see no rural landscape here in Guangzhou, but the commerce and nightly liveliness complement those sceneries more or less. In addition, city life is more filled with knowledge as you are always exposed to new lore. You have to keep yourself up-to-date as the only way to survive, so your scope would be expanded without a doubt.

Wwhen in Anyi, do as the Anyi people do, while when in Guangzhou, do as the Guangzhou people do.