Faith in the future outta the now

週末終於快要來啦~~~ 真HAPPY~~~  ^_^

在炎炎夏日，總是熱到不太想動，可是不動又會沒體力，

所以，來跳舞吧！

之前我在 [0703] 那篇有提到我K完了一套新韓劇，

其實就是《City Hall》啦，OST被我播放好幾天了~~~

dear 們，

暑假已經過了兩天半，不知道過得如何呢  ^_^

放假前那張暑輔 + 暑期 注意事項，

提醒dear們要事先規劃如何運用暑假，可利用時間完成一些平時無法做到的休閒，

好儲備『資本』進行下一個階段的衝刺！

剛才我寫的那一大篇去哪裡了..... 泣...

------ 打起精神，再來一次... --------

今天早上只考一科，

大概九點半吧，學生們都很開心地步出校門，

不管是跟同學去玩耍的，或者是回家滾來滾去的，應該都很悠哉開心吧  ^_^

Bleu II  -- by Joan Miro

星期六來了趟氣質知性之旅，

先在細雨飄搖與滿山山嵐之中，跑去遊客沒幾隻的陽明山小油坑，

望著充滿硫磺味、冒著蒸氣的噴氣口(?!)發呆，想著這裏好像不太適合煮溫泉蛋...

不過，山上的空氣非常清新，山坳、蒸氣、芒草叢，在雨中也別有一番特殊風情，

  Tsunami strikes Ao Nang, Thailand, 2004[1]


Phuket’s seashore after the tsunami strikes, 2004[2]

For me, today is both the last day (of this term?) in Lttc and the first day of this semester in the school I work at.  From 9:00 to 11:00, I was a student, but after 12:00, I went back to my previous position as a teacher.  Like a Cinderella?  


I really enjoy being a student more than being a teacher.  The truth is, up to now, I've spent most of my life being a student.  If being a student can be made into a "job," I must be the first to apply for it.

"Pop! Goes My Heart" 80's has been. Love it!

    When I get back home, the first thing I do is turn on the computer - if it hasn’t been turned on yet - to manage my blogs.In addition to that, I have plenty of things to do online, such as doing research for my papers, listening to the radio on National Public Radio’s website, reading news articles on CNN and TIME, watching music clips on YouTube, searching for data on movies and joining discussions on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes, and buying books and DVDs on Amazon.com/jp.In other words, I’ve found that it has become difficult for me to imagine a life without the Internet.Moreover, it is apparent that I am not alone.Based on long-term observations, persistent "field study" and my personal experience of being an Internet addict, it has dawned on me that there are three main reasons why people become heavily dependent on the Internet: the convenience, the resourcefulness, and the entertainment that the Internet provides.

To begin with, the Internet has developed into such a ripe stage that it now makes people’s lives extremely convenient.For example, people now don’t have to run their errands to pay their bills at different places; instead, with a few quick clicks of the mouse, they can pay all kinds of bills online, such as phone bills, credit card bills, electricity fees, and even taxes.As for shopping, e-commerce provides an easier and more efficient alternative to physical stores.Online stores take pride in their huge variety of merchandise for customers to choose from; furthermore, owing to cost savings in administration and management, they are also able to offer special discounts to make their goods more desirable.When the products in demand are rare or cannot be purchased locally, online stores are always the best choice.With its reasonable prices, secure payment, and speedy international shipment, once having experienced online shopping, one finds it hard to resist the temptation to stick to it. The Internet also brings many conveniences when it comes to arranging travel.Before the trip, one can easily check the schedule of transportation facilities online and make flight, train, liner, restaurant, and hotel reservations without troublesome procedures.

Another reason why the Internet has irresistible appeal is that one can find all kinds of information online at the present time.The Internet is abundant in resourceful information and knowledge because of not only copious, highly informative websites but also collaborative communities of web searchers.Wikipedia, an illustrative instance, is “a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project [, which has] approximately 7.9 million articles in 253 languages”[1].On Wikipedia, one can look up definitions of terminology, get the latest information, and enrich his/her own knowledge.However, since it can be edited by anyone who has access to the Internet, Wikipedia is suspected of being usurped by some interested groups on order to enhance their public images.On the other hand, websites like Yahoo Knowledge and Bulletin Boards, which also function as information providers, put more emphasis on the interaction among users. On this kind of websites/boards, users can freely post their questions or problems, and volunteer respondents will enthusiastically post replies.While it is not likely for them to receive any material reward for this, they feel, as Cho In Joon - a loyal user in the online interactive community - put it, “helping other people on the Internet is addictive”[2].As a result, confronted with hard-to-solve problems, one can always find suggestions and even support on the Internet.

Moreover, some people find that they cannot be torn away from the Internet simply because they cannot quit the multifarious entertainment made available by the Internet.YouTube, though still legally controversial, is a very good platform to watch and share music and TV clips.Thus, rising stars like Bianca Ryan - the little 11-year-old singer from America's Got Talent(NBC) - could win global publicity at almost the same time as the famous reality television show was on the air.It is also interesting to observe that the influence of YouTube is so huge that even production companies such as CBS and Universal Music Group recognize the value of it and are more than willing to put their copyrighted video clips on it for promotion.If people want to discuss their favorite movies or favorite singers with others, they can never be alone in loving something or someone, for they can always find “groups” online to discuss and share their feelings with, which brings joy, satisfaction, and even a sense of belonging.For instance, IMDb functions as more than just a database of international movies because its users can participate in or initiate threads of discussions at any time.Moreover, by googling keywords, one will be led by the most powerful search engine on the earth INSTANTLY to those burgeoning amateur “fansites”, where worldwide fans of a particular movie genre, actor, musician, or athlete join together to talk about the people or the things that they love in common.Likewise, MSN can be said to be a tool for both communication and recreation.As soon as one logs in, both real and cyber friends will never grant him or her a minute of undisturbed time.Additionally, it seems needless to explain the enchantment of those countless online games, which make many people forget themselves and abandon their real lives.

To sum up, it is clear that because it possesses these three advantages - convenience, resourcefulness, and entertainment, people today can hardly avoid the alluring Internet.Nevertheless, some undesirable problems have also begun to emerge.For example, some people are so fond of surfing the Web that they gradually confine themselves to the online world and feel rejected outside of it. If the situation persists, they might have trouble dealing with real people.Sitting in front of the computer for too long a time may lead to health problems as well.Being an Internet addict, though I diagnose myself as only having minor and controllable symptoms, it has become a lesson of crucial importance for me and people like me to learn how to strike a balance between an enjoyable Internet life and a challenging real life. As Thoreau asserts in his timeless Walden, “Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things.They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at”[3].While relishing the cozy, well-informed, and amusing life that the Internet has given us, we have to be watchful of being unknowingly enslaved by it.

Today I went back to my alma mater to take GEPT Advanced Level Test.  As the effect of the fact that this test is only held annually, the examinees were over 200.  I even saw some foreigners taking this test, who seemed to come from the U.S. or Europe. (I'm always bad at guessing people's nationalities.)  Well, to tell the truth, the test was more difficult than I had expected.   It was even harder than the CBT!  After the test, I overheard several examinees claim that they fell asleep during the test because they couldn't comprehend the long, long articles in reading section and couldn't keep up with the speed of speech in listening section.   As for me, I found it rather surprising that it seemed I did better in listening  than reading.  If only the time had been more sufficient for reading section!!  Besides, owing to the side effect of the extraction of tooth, I felt like vomiting all through the test time...    Hope the results can be acceptable!

Very happy to have lunch with all these fabulous ladies & gentlemen......though at that time I worried about the exatraction of my darlin' wisdom tooth so much that I ate little 'n' talked little.     Hope we can have another happy get-together soon.  P.S. Because I've hided this blog so well that only very few knew of and visited here, maybe it's OK to post our photos on this blog.  Yet, if any of you feel uncomfortable with it, pls feel free to inform me , and I'll remove the photos right away. Since I'm not quite satisfied with my photos taken today, I'd like to post a more acceptable one as a complimentary photo(←as a matter of fact, no one cares!), which was taken in July 25 with my senior high classmate.

After having lunch with my classmates & teacher in LTTC, I went for the appointemnet with the dentist.  And, and.......I had my wisom tooth extracted.  Though my superb dentist did it quite quickly and smoothly, after the anaesthesia medicine gradually lost its effect, I've felt a little bit dizzy, especially my dear computer has got virus AGAIN, and I had to try to fix it myself. Now feeling the hole(?) in the gums, I kinda missing my darlin' tooth, even though I had it removed from me.

(1) Languages are a means of communication. (2) Foreingers can never speak like native speakers. (3) It's meaningless to try to "correct" one's accents, for it will probably be always there. However, sometimes I wonder how I sound to native speakers when I speak English or Japanese. As observed, my speaking is apt to be influened.  For example, last year when I went to Japan, first, I stayed in the northeast part of Japan for about ten days.  After that when I visited Tokyo, a clerk asked me if I was from the northeast.  Well, I'm a Taiwanese!!  Another example is that when I was enthusiasic about learning French, my spoken English got seriously impaired.