Long time no see

Hello my dear blog, I haven't seen you for quite some time,more than 700 days has passed without my slightest notice. I have spent 3 new year's eve in this so-called capital city which is a tiny small rural town to me anyways.Life here is indescribable, I can only list down a couple of adjectives to express my feelings: boring, quiet, slow, nostalgia, lonely but to some extend very free.Africa is the only continent unlike others, which was way behind modern development and it's usually mistakenly considered as 1 country instead of 1 continent to the non-African world.There are 54 countries in this continent and each one has its own character.Sadly I haven't got any chance to visit a 2nd African country yet despite my all kinds of complaints about Uganda. The people here are not friendly, it's dangerous to even walk outside especially during Christmas season.I don't have much unnecessary contact with the locals, don't have any local friends either besides business partners. Not to say that I'm raciest,it's truly difficult to blend in to such a unique culture (Not oriental not western, one of a kind) In order to make myself occupied, I picked up something I dropped almost 20 years ago---Basketball. Sports is my only entertainment here,whereas in Malaysia I have 100 others activities awaits.Therefore my Malaysian friends didn't know that I'm actually quite into sports. Basketball is one of my favourite, I played for the school team when I was 10 years old.Although now I only remember a fraction of what I used to know, it's good enough to mix with the Chinese basketball guys here. I never imagined all the top sports guys were "exiled" to Uganda. It's like a combination of basketballers, footballers,athletes and swimmers.Maybe this coincides with our common understanding: one who doesn't excel in studies, has to train himself physically to obtain certain advantages.On the other hands, those who are very highly educated seriously doesn't have much time or interest to build up his body. Mingling with these muscles really satisfies my eyes, I have never seen so many guys with abs at the same time before, it's somehow like an A&F flagship opening ceremony, dozens of nude hot models standing there for you to touch and take photos. Of course I can't really touch them,only by seeing their mesmerizing movement in the basketball court already melts my heart. It's like the good old days, when we were peeking our school team training, those days were too young too good. However I'm very greedy, only satisfying my eyes doesn't content my brains. I remembered once I said "the longest distance in the world is his body is sitting across the table with you but your minds are thousands miles apart from each other". It's quite difficult to communicate with the muscles if you want to try another topic other than sports, probably they can't really get you.I knew it before hand thus I never waste my effort in attempting. Time after time, the loneliness in my soul grows, I miss my soulmates in China and in Malaysia badly. In order to free my soul, I started running again. Running, for many people is just a boring and tedious continuous striding of the legs. I was forced by my dad to run daily when I was 4 and I kept the habit for 10 years. I hated running when I was forced to,but now it seems that I have finally learned the deeper meaning of running. It's a very good meditation, time-alone, empty your brains and forget all the hassles in life temporarily, most importantly it makes me happy. Scientific study shows that running is a good combat to depression therefore I also recommend my depressed friends to give it a try. It's the cheapest and easiest way to keep yourself happy and healthy. I joined Nike+ running society and found out their are so many runner friends out there. We exchange encouragement and likes to keep ourselves motivated and moving and so many people are just too good at it which makes me jealous. I have determined to complete a half marathon this year, irrespective of others,when I feel like growing, I must grow. Due to my repeatedly training,my body has achieved a 10-year best condition so far:weight, shape, stamina, strength, heart rate.I'm so grateful at this "seriously not young" age, my body is still giving me a positive response when I start back exercise.Presumably I can delay motherhood for a few years since my body is younger than my real age! Whenever think about this will shoo away my negative feelings. Today is always the best day to start your work-out! Well I have no idea what nonsense I've been rattling, just to let you readers know the significant improvement of health that sports has brought to me. Hope you all shall also benefit from it. Great day, cheers~!

Journey to the untouched land - 1

For the first time in my entire life, I have finally flew out of Asia, went for an 18 hours flight, to the most original and poorest continent on this earth, Africa. It is the second largest continent by area and also by population, and it is the only continent that does not have 1 single developed country and majority of its people are struggling hard for survival. When people heard about it, their first impression are normally a few words: HIV, malaria, poverty, hunger, war and millions of uncivilized Negros. It really requires great courage and adventurous spirit to step on this land. (Let's leave Mauritius and Seychelles alone, as these are very matured tourist hotspot.) Other than that, we may only be able to think of vast tropical grassland, prides of lions,elephants antelopes and buffaloes. Hippos are bathing in the muddy water lazily while crocodiles are patiently waiting for gnu cub to cross the river alone. Hearty Xmas lunch Well, let's come back to reality. I'm here in Uganda for 4 days, have been travelling around but not to the national parks yet. From my experience, I can only tell that this land is blessed, it has great cooling weather, totally unlike all of us had expected. You seriously can say that it's autumn coz you don't really need an electric fan here in this tropical capital city.The people here are lazy, just as the other equatorial area, due to their abundant reserve of all kinds of resources. They are not keen to work harder to improve their living standard coz they are already sufficiently fed. There aren't any high risings here, not to mention about shopping complexes. The people here couldn't care less about the branded goods. (By the way, the only international brand I see here is Bata）. The road condition was worse than I thought. From the international airport back to city it was about 30km but it takes 1 hour plus. It's a very muddy and dusty single lane "highway" with all kind of dents and holes. I had my 1st car accident here on Christmas day. 2 cows suddenly appeared in the middle of the highway on that dark evening without any street lamps. We couldn't stop completely before knocking into one of them, and instantly our side mirror flew away... The signature SiChuan MaPo tofu However, despite the differences in infrastructure compared to Asian countries, Africa does have its merits. This land is original, untouched, undeveloped just like a virgin. People are not willing to overly explore or maybe they know the importance of sustainability.Air is fresh, food is unpolluted and amazingly the water quality is not as bad as Beijing! There are all kinds of restaurants to cater the needs for the expatriates coming from all over the world. Western restaurants I've tried 2, the taste was not bad and at a price more or less the same as KL. Chinese cuisine, you can get a lot and even the local people consider having Chinese food as a culture and luxury enjoyment. Out of the 3 Chinese restaurants I've been to, 1 is extremely good and really way above my expectation! There are about 10k Chinese people residing in this city, from different parts of China, doing different kinds of businesses. They are living a good life here, less burden and stress as to their days in the home country. Sliced pork in spicy garlic sauce To be continued...

离“家”所思

在马来西亚住了N年，曾经戏言她是我的第二个家，如今，阔别4个月之后，再次回来我才发现，她原来比我想象中更加重要，她就是我的家。 刚下飞机，呼吸着熟悉的温暖潮湿的空气，把重庆的冰冷全部抛诸脑后，莫名的欣喜若狂，情不自禁的大呼，我终于回家了！或许很多人会觉得费解，这个拿着中国护照的人是不是疯了。我只会付诸一笑，很多事情不一定所有人都会理解的，自己明白就好。心之所在便是家，我发现我的心被我留在了这里，我过了四个月心不在身上的生活，回家了才真的豁然开朗。一切都还是那么亲切，这才是属于我的地方，我的地盘我的家。 迫不及待的要把吉隆坡的每个商场都转个遍，到处都是我的曾经我的足迹我的抹不掉的过去。如今，有新的人新的生活来重新书写新的故事，太多太多的过去和现在，让我迫不及待的想继续，想看到未来，虽然说没人知道在2012年12月21号之后究竟还有没有未来。一一品味我怀念了四个月的曾经最爱的美食，我才发现原来我怀念的不光是食物，不光是味道，还有自己的青春。Twilight saga在时隔四年之后终于有了结局，Edward和Bella似乎是永远被定格在了18岁，他们是“永恒”的，从外表上我也感觉不到他们有任何一丝变化，可是时钟却是在毫不停留的嘀嗒着，不知什么时候，我总会在自己鬓角发现第一缕银发。 大树在一个地方生长久了，枝繁叶茂，树根深深的嵌入泥土，每一个细胞都紧紧的抓住这片它赖以生存的土地。如果要把它连根拔起，很多细小的根茎都会断裂，把它移植到另一片新的土地，水土服不服也是个问题，为了生存，大树会不会自己“走”回自己的家？

翻墙

今天是我生平第一次翻墙，希望以后可以一直翻墙顺利，上来跟大家打个招呼而已，上帝保佑我不会被摔死，哦耶~

从今以后，再无瓜葛

今天是一个特别的日子，不仅仅是IBM马来西亚成立51周年纪念日，也是我在IBM的最后一天。昨天晚上不知道为什么没睡好，早上5点多就醒了，睡得很不踏实，我不知道是兴奋还是高兴还是难过，抑或是掺杂了其他很多情绪在里面，难以言表。 早上起来就做了件非常笨的事，好心干坏事，把我的旗袍熨坏了，我很生气也很心疼，什么心情都没有了，整个人一下子跌到谷底了。这已经是第二次熨坏衣服了，我真的需要一个人帮我熨一辈子衣服，真受不了。去了公司今天很安静，很多人请假，大家早上都去凑热闹，去看公司的庆祝活动，几十个人的群魔乱舞，再加上切蛋糕环节。我看在眼里倒是觉得不痛不痒，可能是因为从今以后我将和IBM分道扬镳吧。 今天我要处理掉我整个收件箱，打算把它整个传给我的“徒弟”，请了IT的朋友帮忙，感谢人家在百忙之中还要来应酬我这个最没有取悦价值的人。午餐之后去还电脑，还身份证等物品，突然之间才觉得，原来我跟IBM真的是两清了。（要等他们发了我最后一个月的工资之后）我还电脑的时候，待那人帮我签字盖章之后，我开玩笑似的跟他说：这辈子，我们再无瓜葛。突然觉得这辈子好像是那么短又那么长，我在一个星期之后就即将去到另一个星球，让这里的一切都成为我的记忆，或许是永久抹不去的，霎那间各种情绪都涌了上来。忧郁如我的，怀着那颗一如既往细如丝的心，怀着对未知的好奇心和憧憬，我宁愿相信，这一切都是命中注定。 在哪一个时刻遇到哪一些人，做了哪一些事，对未来有着哪一些影响。我试图去思考清楚各者之间的关联，却发现有很多事都是“理还乱”的。我早该知道，像我这么“不平庸”的人，注定会经历一些普通人可能永远不会经历的波折。生活中的各种创伤在心上留下了千疮百孔，各种各样的痛，各种各样的刻骨铭心，等到几十年后回忆起来，一切都会是陈年的老酒，醇香浓厚而回味无穷。。。

Count down

The days I spent in Malaysia through the years are uncountable. However, today is the final month count down before I leave this deeply beloved country. The quote sounds like a platitude of an old scholar, but it is true indeed: Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're gonna get. There are so many uncertainties in life and which made it so colourful and worth expecting. I've experienced plenty of unexpected fortune and misfortune. I always try my best to think in a positive way. Everything happens for a reason.God will only give you things that you can handle.What doesn't kill you make you stronger. I shall cherish everyday I have left, embrace everything around me carefully. It will never happen again. I may never come back again. Malaysia, my second home,so much memories I had collected, deeply carved in my heart. I've devoted so much to her even more than my home country. I can say that I was born in China, but I grew up in Malaysia. I've experienced so many "first-time" here. My exposure has enlarged tremendously these years. I've met many good buddies, we may not be able to see each other for a long time, yet our friendship will last forever. Hereby I thank you all for your continuous love and concern which had accompanied me through ups and downs. I love you all and we shall never say goodbye...

岁月不饶人

昨天参加了公司举办的山地越野跑接力赛，整个Finance部门的三百多号人分成了十支队伍，每队派出五名参赛者，那个山头全程大概3公里多，每个人跑的距离不一样，地形也不一样。我们这个队有两男三女，我选了个相对而言不太长也不太陡的第四棒，原本以为可以平安无事，谁知。。。 三点半我们就抵达了目的地，结果我才知道原来我们需要自己走去各自跑的那一棒，意思是，第一棒的人完全不用走，在起点备战就好；第二棒的人要从起点走去第二棒，我这个悲剧的第四棒就走了前三棒，几乎是整个山头都被我走了一圈。头上顶着北纬三度的下午的太阳，真不是开玩笑的，还好我没丢脸到在半路就被晒晕了。 我们刚走到目的地，就听见起点的人在用对讲机通知我们已经开跑了。神奇的是，没过几分钟，就已经有队伍的第三棒已经跑到我们这儿了。我顿时才有了要打仗的感觉，站在哪里翘首期盼我的第三棒，左盼右盼，十个人已经走了5个，我们第三棒的帅哥还没到，那时真是像热锅上的蚂蚁一样。在我身边观战的一个队友说，第三棒是不是被外星人绑架了，我倒是怀疑他半路被猴子掳去当女儿国里的唐三藏了（不开玩笑，山上真的有很多猴子到处跑）。正在我望眼欲穿的时候，帅哥出现了，我抓过接力绳就没命的跑。 认识我的人都知道，我从小跑到大，从4岁开始被老爹逼着每天晨跑，跑了将近有十年，虽然期间偷懒无限，可好歹跑了十年跟没跑的人毕竟是不一样的。原本以为越野跑也就那么回事，应该不在话下，可是才跑出去没多远的一个大下坡就让我改变了主意。人长虽然脚长，但是重心也相对较高，遇到下坡的时候，真的不敢全力跑，感觉整个人会直接栽下去。我当时就在想，如果我圆一点的话，干脆直接滚下山应该会比较快，又想跑快又要刹车控制那感觉真不好受。我的眼镜不止一次的差点跌下来，事后我在想，难道自从我高二开始每天戴眼镜了我就不怎么运动了么？怎么以前就从没觉得戴眼镜有这么麻烦呢？ 前面离我不远处有个印度女生，脚步越迈越慢，我在后面都听到她沉重的呼吸声，我咬牙拼命的追，几千年没拼过命了，觉得这次豁出去了。拼命的结果是我真的追上了她，看到前面还有一个女的，脚步轻健，我心想我估计没戏，而且我也快要到了我的终点，算了吧，追上一个也是超额完成任务了。当我马上要到终点的时候，我听到二线大经理在喊“Shirley加油”，他也跑第五棒，我完全没功夫理他，把东西递给了我的第五棒之后，就已经觉得天旋地转，脚不是我的，就快往地上躺了。强忍着，心里默想着老爹的教诲，刚激烈运动之后不能坐不能躺，我逼着自己强站着，第五棒的据点很郁闷的完全无队友，要找个人来扶我都找不到。过了一会儿，跑第三棒的帅哥已经走到了我们那儿，我当时没觉得怎样，只是觉得很累很想坐很想喝水。后来大家一起走向最后集合点，于是看到了我圆圆的可爱的经理，在跟我招手，陪我坐地上一直问我还ok嘛。她才走了半个山头，都已经要倒下了，我心想要是你去跑的话，不知道会怎样。等大队人马到齐之后，Finance的老大Steve顶着他的圣诞老人肚子出现了，我当时就觉得要是他跑第四棒肯定碉堡了，直接就一个滚西瓜嘛。 接下来的颁奖典礼完全跟我们没关系，然后非要叫那么多人挤在一起拍合照留念，真是够恶心的，又没有广角镜头，以为我们是沙丁鱼啊？拍完照之后我突然觉得胃里面一阵翻滚，我就在路边径自坐下了，路边恰好是水沟，我想都没功夫想，就哇的一声，两年来第一次吐。当时我真觉得心寒，一个假惺惺的运动员，今天会沦落到这个地步。十年像猪一样的生活，直接把我之前十年的运动生涯全部一笔抹杀了。我都对自己做了些什么，我不知道自己现在还有多大的本事，我只觉得岁月真的不饶人。我对身体的所做的一切，它都给了我相应的回答。我不得不好好反思，自己平时的生活状态，身体是怎么变得如此弱不禁风的？于是，我又暗暗发誓（发誓过N次了），回家之后，我要每天锻炼身体，休养生息一段日子吧，我也折腾够了。 今天早上我才领教到什么叫“我的身体不是我的”，躺在床上像烂泥一般动弹不得，全身上下没有一块不疼的地方。这才是真的“就连呼吸都痛”，不知道接下来会痛多久，但是我觉得趁这次把肌肉里的乳酸全部排出去了，就再也没理由偷懒了，不然下次开始运动还得再痛一次。反省啊反省，老骨头，不比当年了...