Time to Learn Chinese

Well, it's weird to say that I need to learn Chinese. As a native Cantonese, I am not good at speaking, reading and writing Chinese. What a terrible situation I am in!

Got to take an exam next year which Chinese will be one of the subjects taken. So starting from today I should spend some minutes each day to upgrade my Chinese hardware.

Here is what I got today.

蹉跎岁月 = to idle one's time away;
马齿徒增 = to grow old with nothing accomplished;
峥嵘岁月 = eventful years

Well, also learned yesterday from one of my UK colleagues an English word - TTFN, short for ta-ta for now. It is just another way to say goodbye, see ya, or laters.

Posted via email from Dennis & Zoe

绝命岛(The Island)

Oh baby, I have just added another Chinese movie into my must-watch list. The Island is about to be released in September. I hope it will live up to its 20 millions production cost and the starry cast.

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海扁王(Kick-Ass)

The Chinese version of the movie title beats me like one-thousand times. Lets put aside the confusing movie title and look into the content. The movie is eye-catching and alive with wonderful action scenes. But the problem is it should not be viewed by any underage, unless you want your kid watching an aggressive, or even violent, teenage girl killing bad asses with no mercy showing. The idea behind the movie is that even an ordinary guy can become a hero of some kind, of course with the help of some state-of-the-art weapons and armors. I think overall this movie is cool and I will wait for the sequel, which is said to be released in 2012. Kiss your ass!

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Living or Surviving?

Just finished a movie and now sitting back in front of the damned PC (It was damned, but couldn't live without it, that's a sad truth). I started to think about the question - am I living or just surviving? With only a few entertainment around, I didn't have a sports car, a riverside villa, or I simply couldn't do whatever I wanted to do, like traveling worldwide.(I didn't think I was greedy though) Things became impossible to me when they were priced dearly. A line from the movie Kick-Ass, with no power comes no responsibilities, struck me with a start. With no special power injected, am I going to be an ordinary guy throughout my life and all I have to do is to live with it?

No, I want a better life, in which I want to travel around with my family and never need to worry about money issue. I have to admit, now I'm just surviving, and a long way before I can really chill out. Not being content with what you have may make your life painful, but I think I will enjoy the 'painfulness' along my life.

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This is Reality

There's always a little truth behind every "JUST KIDDING" and a little knowledge behind every "I DON'T KNOW".

There's always a little emotion behind every "I DON'T CARE" and a little pain behind every "IT'S OK".

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Starcraft Cake

Nothing is impossible!

1. This is a photo of the Zerg base in the upcoming Starcraft II. And someone is going to make one himself, by flour.

2. Prepare for the wonder.

3. Shape the base.

4. Add some details.

5. More details.

6. More more details.

7. Making the floor.

8. The floor is done!

9. What are these?

10. OMG!

11. Unbelievable!

12. Here is another amazing view!

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恶作剧之吻(It started with a Kiss)

Well, I really don't know how it gets into Zoe's veins, but Zoe is now entirely enchained by this Taiwan soap opera.(not enchanted by Harry Potter, what a pity!) And what becomes worrying is that this soap opera is now on its second season! Further doubling my worry is that Zoe asked me to buy her a copy so she could view it on a gigantic TV screen with the help of an RGB wire! Anyway, I'm not complaining here as long as it really gets her pleasure and help release her pressure. =)

Now, let's take a look at the lass-killer!

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When Two Become One

The fact is there are two people in the house, but it seems each of them has nothing to do with the other, or to say the least, is being entirely apart from the other. The girl is being occupied by a Taiwan soap opera, while the boy is busy with nothing. The boy now understands why the girl complains him when he is engrossed in reading English books, watching game videos or surfing IT websites. The same mentality is in effect. This moment, to me, is monumental no matter how you slice it. Now I understand the deeper implication of the word "interest." When you are interested in something, the something will take the place of anyone or anything you care. You act like you are blind to other people. You become ignorant, unaware and unconscious. You do nothing but to stare at what you are interested. This happens on both male or female, kid or adult. No human being can escape the magic of interest without being hurt, or hurting others. Yes, I'm sorta irritated now. She must have felt the same way in the past. Yes, that must have been the case. But I do have a puzzle twirling in my head. She knew 100% this could hurt. She definitely knew it as she had explained in plain language to me that this kind of act would put a negative effect on people around me. But even someone who knows the danger inside out is now being converted into a state that lets me feel shuddering, and even devastating. Ironically, somehow, an old saying pops up into my fragile head - do as you would be done by others. We are used to point to others with no hesitation when something bad happens. We don't like to think in other people's shoes. Our self-interest is dominant and insuperable in most of the cases.

I believe, sincerely, that everyone has self-interest, to a certain extent. I myself have. And now the problem is tricky - how can we balance our self-interest so we don't hurt people around? Are we too young to deal with this? Are we too young to talk about self-interest? Even though we know self-interest hurts but still we have no viable way to solve it in a decent approach.

I asked myself why I was irritated but it remained unanswered. I treated people the same way many times before and was still being influenced by this unshakable mentality.

Is there no way out? Hope the answer is no.

What is our weapon to self-interest? This is a question that should be answered at the earliest stage of our lives.

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Reading Fun Plus Sudden Confrontation

I'm at the end of the second book of Harry Potter which I find very intriguing and can't wait reading it through. Things go on pretty well these days though last night I had a heated confrontation with Zoe on the topic of values. After the 'bicker" we got into some kind of "cold war" in bed, and of course ended up peacefully at last.

We conflict constantly on a regular basis. Don't know why but seems we can always find a way to engage in fervent confrontation. Maybe, I have to admit, this is real life.

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My Kid, This is Writing for You

Hi dear,

I am writing this post specifically for you, my kid. Your dad is 28 years old at the time of writing this and have spent most of his time in the past idling and goofing around. He is very regretful but unfortunately there is no antidote for his remorse in the world he lives and he can perform no magic to return to the past for his debt. He wants to leave you a message here though you might never read it in your whole life. You should cherish your time and take study seriously. You don't need to study madly as "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" but you have to have a study map throughout life so you don't get lost. You should not idle around as I did when I was a kid. You should not treat PC games as your priorities as I did when I was a school boy. You should not grow up with poor knowledge of Chinese, (even I'm a native Chinese) math, politics, history, chemistry, geography and logic as I did. You should not study extremely hard after school age to regain the lost bits of knowledge as I did, which was largely in vain from my experience. Make good use of your time kid.

I hope I can see you soon.

Dennis,
Your Dad

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Perseverance. Do I have it?

Feeling my inabilities to write excellent English is a pain, and seeing the fact the my overall English level is declining is nothing but an ordeal. Something puzzled me these days - even I was in an English working environment and read English as frequently as I possibly could but it was clear to me that my English level was still skydiving downwards, at an indescribable speed. WHAT THE HECK!

I've decided to re-enter academic heaven after years away from college. I don't really know if I can persist since I would have to take quite a few remediation courses before facing the entrance exam. The time is not ideal for further academic study now as I have a 9:30-18:30 job and at the same time I have to take care of a family. Sometimes I feel tired and helpless. But I think even all these combined is not enough to produce an excuse to give up further study, which is consistently a dream of mine.

I have many interests, playing guitar, B-box, drawing, writing blog, reading comics...etc. but I have only one dream - to make myself a successful man. And clearly, the term successful is partly defined in my own dictionary as academically successful. The road ahead is laden with anxiety and pressure. I can foresee it with no doubt. Nonetheless, with fighting spirit, I will remember who I am and what I should achieve and stride forwards with no back-away.

Life is tough? But you can be tougher!

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Amazing Chinese Translation

The following screenshot from Mop.com shows a twisted translation, which is deemed erotic if not racy. Don't stop me from worshiping this masterpiece of a netizen from Hangzhou. Remember to pay close attention to the rhymes of R and T as the so-called translation matches them precisely with an innovative annotation.

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No Short-cut in Life

Inspired? There is no short-cut in your life. No pay, no gain.

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Lost on Journey (Aka 人在囧途)

What will happen on a journey home? Sounds a very simple journey but sometimes that's not the case, especially when you are in China. Lost on Journey tells us a story of 2 guys going home during the Spring Festival. I myself have never tasted spring-festival trip but Zoe tells me that it's even horrible than what the movie depicts. Back to the movie, it's alive with laughable lines and scenes and you will also not disappoint upon the performance of the two actors in the flick. It's not a must-see but you should go for it if you can squeeze time from your busyness.

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The Karate Kid(功夫梦)

Jacky Chen is not a kongfu star in this movie and don't expect any classic funny tussles that you used to see in Jacky Chen's movies years ago. Well, I think the movie is a bit dull in terms of story line, and also a bit lengthy indeed. But what makes me feel sick is that the movie depicts, though slightly, an international calf love between two kids! I really think these scenes are not good for teenagers and should be cut from the movie. Also, the movie gives people outside China a feeling that everyone in China knows kongfu. How can't that be when you see even a property manager can perform kongfu in a brilliant way. Overall, this is the worst movie involving Jacky, and I think it is better to see him performing kungfu, instead of teaching a kid kungfu.

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