Alice is running like horse

3.30 how to express our anger? Today, I went to Modell’s to buy somethings. The sales clerk can not understand my accent and replied with impatient voice, very pettish and reluctant tone, I can not help but express my anger with my broken English. then i told her bad manner made me angry and i do not want to go to the store again! She did not care. When I went to the first floor, i ask the other clerk to express my feeling to the manager, she let me wait until the guard told her manager has left already. Then, I told to my teacher, Joyce, I would like to learn how to reflect my angerto others in polite way. Here is her suggestions: what is your name? (and write it down to get her attention) I want to speak to your manager. (keep your temper, if you lose it, you lost.) I will write a letter to the director of Modell's the sales person is rude. I will not buy things from this store again. and I will tell my friends not to buy in your store. I will put on my blog! (I did have a blog...

日本同學介紹村上春樹--- 1他自稱寫小說，僅需要一個明確且具體的開場便有信心將其完美結束。也視眾多作品之間，相對題材的不同與發展方向，為自我寫作能力的淬煉。「就像是運動般，這個月鍛鍊右臂肌肉，下個月鍛鍊大腿肌肉...如此而已。」 2爵士樂對村上春樹寫作風格的形塑有極大影響。「若沒有迷醉於音樂，我可能不會成為小說家。」 3每日早晨四點起便進行寫作，至上午十點前終止當日的寫作工作。「我沒有一天不寫作。隨筆也好，翻譯也罷。總是要寫些什麼。」 4將自我成為日本現代小說大家的原因總結於「天賦」。自認身體內有一股驅使他寫作的本能，這麼一來就不得不去寫。 5完成的作品不管是短篇或是長篇、散文隨筆，一旦出版就會盡自己所能加以忘掉來進行新的作品，也不會再翻看。曾有讀者向村上表示對小說作品的肯定，村上卻對自己寫過的該段小說情節毫無印象。 http://zh.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E6%9D%91%E4%B8%8A%E6%98%A5%E6%A8%B9&variant=zh-hant Banana Yoshimodo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Yoshimoto

3.26 昨天沸揚許久的紐約大都會運輸局 MTA通過末日預算(Doomsday Budget)，確定五月底開始全面漲價25%，使得紐約的公車或地鐵單程票價由2元變成2.5元，我們所使用最划算的無限次月票(Unlimited)也由81元調漲至103元了。 如果漲價是為了改善運輸系統及提高服務品質，那還可以勉強接受，但為了彌補12億元的赤字，就如丟錢到黑洞中，讓紐約人的生活在經濟旱災中更加辛苦。難怪同事說 Service system is a poison. 原本已經夠多流浪漢和失業的街頭賣藝者在地鐵乞討，這樣的漲價讓紐約市民不悅，乞討者也更難討生活了。前幾天在中央車站的地鐵看到一個穿著整齊西裝的黑人乞丐用四個看板敘述他的故事---之前因為事故導致腦殘，奇蹟式的被醫治了還上了報紙，Now, I need another miracle-A JOB! http://www.globest.com/news/1375_1375/newyork/177696-1.html "NEW YORK CITY-Unless Albany acts before May 31, the eight million New Yorkers who ride public transit each day will be served up another dose of economic reality, thanks to a doomsday budget vote by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday. " Yesterday, I read an article about the disasters/catastrophes happened in recent years, nowadays the global economics drought/recession is in the same situation. Kobe earthquake.(日本神戶) – January 17 th 1995. 6,300 people killed and $140 billon in damages. Sampoong department store(三豐百...

許多人為了讓世界更美好， 奉獻了自己的一生， 也許到老到死都默默無聞， 卻讓人們懷念著感念著； 也有些人不知道有來生，盡其所能沉溺在享樂之中， 一手遮天做盡壞事，以為神不知鬼不覺， 審判的那日子到時，只能後悔莫及了。 政治人物如此，小老百姓也如此， 讓我想到 財主和拉撒路 的故事。 路加福音16:19-31 有一個財主穿著紫色袍和細麻布衣服，天天奢華宴樂。又有一個討飯的，名叫拉撒路，渾身生瘡，被人放在財主門口，要得財主桌子上掉下來的零碎充飢；並且狗來舔他的瘡。後來那討飯的死了，被天使帶去放亞伯拉罕的懷裏。財主也死了，並且埋葬了。他在陰間受痛苦，舉目遠遠地望見亞伯拉罕，又望拉撒路在他懷裏，就喊著說：『我祖亞伯拉罕哪，可憐我吧！打發拉撒路來，用指頭尖蘸點水，涼涼我的舌頭；因為我在這火焰裏，極其痛苦。』亞伯拉罕說：『兒啊，你該回想你生前享過福，拉撒路也受過苦；如今他在這裏得安慰，你倒受痛苦。不但這樣，並且在你我之間，有深淵限定，以致人要從這邊過到你們那邊是不能的；要從那邊過到我們這邊也是不能的。』財主說：『我祖啊！既是這樣，求你打發拉撒路到我父家去；因為我還有五個弟兄，他可以對他們作見證，免得他們也來到這痛苦的地方。』亞伯拉罕說：『他們有摩西和先知的話可以聽從。』他說：『我祖亞伯拉罕哪，不是的，若有一個從死裏復活的，到他們那裏去的，他們必要悔改。』亞伯拉罕說：『若不聽從摩西和先知的話，就是有一個從死裏復活的，他們也是不聽勸。』」 2009.3.18 聯合報 因為愛，他早就認定台灣是他的根。 新竹縣天主教華光智能發展中心創辦人 葉由根 神父，昨天凌晨過世，享壽九十九歲；教友紅著眼眶說，他簡樸度日，半生奉獻給弱勢孩子，連遺體都捐給輔仁大學醫學院。 匈牙利籍的葉神父來台超過半世紀，只回國兩次，最後一次在九十歲那年，還募款回台灣。葉神父曾獲得內政部頒發外僑永久居留證，他將居留證掛在房間牆上，視為榮耀。 華光主任吳富美說，「葉神父早已把自己當台灣人」，每一分秒都用行動「愛台灣」，曾說過「處久了，都是一家人！」 傳教士翁莎莉說，葉神父廿五歲赴大陸傳教，說一口「河北腔的國語」。四十五歲來台，第一站在嘉義，因此學會台語，後來在新竹香山天主聖十字堂服務，學會客語，創辦天主教仁愛啟智中心及關西華光智能發展中心，給弱勢兒童一個家。 華光昨天上午為葉神父舉行殯葬彌撒，與他相處多年的工作人員、院...

3.17 今天是愛爾蘭人的國慶日~聖派屈克節，世界各地愛爾蘭人也為此舉辦遊行及慶典，紐約也不例外。 http://www.history.com/content/stpatricksday/who-was-st.-patrick Everything is green !環保意識抬頭的一天 http://www.usnews.com/blogs/fresh-greens/2009/03/17/5-things-that-are-green-on-st-patricks-day.html "Things are Green on St. Patrick's Day /March 17, 2009 Unnaturally-colored beer. Paper leprechaun hats. Plastic cups strewn everywhere. St Patrick's Day can be wasteful indeed, but that doesn't mean your celebration of it has to be. For Irish-Americans, here are five things that are green - in more way than one - for St. Patrick's Day. 2.Food. Many will indulge in some delicious corned beef, but that's not the only food that Ireland is known for. Try some Irish soda bread , or a veggie stew . Don't forget potatoes - traditional, with the added benefit of a tiny carbon footprint. How about some colcannon ? 3. Transit. If you're celebrating tonight, leave the car at home. By taking public transportation to your S...

紐約深入觀光的另一種方式為線上預約。很多有名的建築、私人豪宅除了每年十月的OPEN HOUSE 可以免費一窺究竟之外，一些政府機構也提供網路或電話預約由專人簡介導覽，如FED的黃金倉庫 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Bank_of_New_York "Main article: 33 Liberty Street The Federal Reserve Bank of New York maintains a vault that lies 86 feet (26 m) below sea level, resting on Manhattan bedrock. By 1927, the vault contained ten percent of the world's official gold reserves . Currently, it is reputedly the largest gold repository in the world (though this cannot be confirmed as Swiss Banks do not report their gold stocks) and holds approximately 5,000 metric tons of gold bullion ($160 billion as of March 2008), more than Fort Knox . The gold is owned by many foreign nations, central banks and international organizations. The Federal Reserve Bank does not own the gold but serves as guardian of the precious metal, which it protects at no charge as a gesture of good will to other nations." 及City hall tour & Tweed courthouse tour http://en.wikipedia.org...

早上撘公車時，看到前方座位上有一張一元紙鈔，想看看美國人如何反應。 不久一位高大的白人中年男子，走到座位旁撿起來放進口袋，接著走到司機旁邊，我以為他會交給司機，但他是去補刷卡，之後他走到另一邊的座位坐下來，若無其事的繼續聽MP3。 原來華盛頓的誠實守信精神並沒有在他的子孫身上發揚光大 (不過問了美國人之後，他們覺得小錢無所謂因為你不拿別人看到也會拿但如果金額大就要交給警察；如果是皮包且知道誰是主人和無法歸屬的現金又不一樣；如果周圍有人且大家都等著看誰拿那一塊錢和沒有人時所做的決定也會不同) 不過美國人有六點傳統價值觀: six traditional values 1.individual freedom-------4.self-reliance 2.equality of opportunity--..5.competition 3.material wealth-----------6.hard-work 重視個人自由，人人機會平等; 物質主義;; 獨立;競爭;努力工作 想到目前工作上在查的逾期催收案，也發生令我十分不解的事情。 (雖然我們的客戶都是台商，不過也都是在美國二三十年並歸屬美國籍的人，所以一併討論) 一位官拜陸軍上校，又是基督徒竟然倒我們銀行的錢不還，忍不住上網查一下他的資料，發現他仍非常的活躍在各媒體中。 忍不住問同事，為何他可以這樣(囂張?)原來美國個人破產法只有七年，七年內只要沒有財產或是脫產後宣布破產，銀行也奈你無何，七年後又是一條好漢。所以美國次級房貸受災戶就這樣賴著銀行不繳房貸，大不了把房子收回，但經過法律程序後又要兩三年，這期間就繼續待在銀行的免房租房子中。公司也是如此，脫產後宣告倒閉，剩下的就是苦主的事情了，銀行繼續收拾善後及法律判決，股東則面臨股票成為壁紙的現實。 補充: 美國破產法 1. http://www.americamember.org/usavip/insurance/bankrupt.htm "美國的破產法有一個破產的代號，企業破產處於第11章，美國也通常將破產稱之為破產保護，也就是這並不是真正意味上的破產，而是這個企業在法庭的保護下短期內，6 到9 個月內避免了債權人的追債，給破產企業一個喘息的機會來重組公司，爭取公司恢復正常的營運狀況，可以說這還是對破產公司非常寬鬆。美國的個人破產案是分別在第13 章和...

2009.2.12-2.17 It is about a man's dream: a place where children and adults, boys and girls all play and have lots of fun together. Walt disney built his dream country and made people's dream come true, included me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney This is the trip I plan from alpha to omega. I asked Anthony and Grace who just came back from Disney, learned to use Priceline to "name my own price" to get cheaper airplane ticket and hotel. I did a lot of preparation and it was worthy. Disney world in Orlando is the biggest Disney in the world. There are four main theme parks. http://home.disney.go.com/parks/ 一 Disney Magic Kingdom from 1971 Magic kingdom is for those who have child heart. "Visit the incredible fantasy world-Magic Kingdom, wondrous attractions thrust you into enchanting adventures, lavish parades and shows of your favorite Disney classics leave you laughter and cherished memories that last forever." In the center of park is the statue ...

2009.3.7 Because my conversation partner Bates Whitney is sick today, so I sit in the cafeteria and chat with other students. But one Chinese man came and continue to talked about politic stuff, he made me so uncomfortable, therefore I decided to go to Brooklyn museum with Yuki Hiraoka. Taiwanese and Japanese have many things in common; I like Japanese people more than Chinese. One of my Japanese classmates told me that I should introduce Taiwan to let other students know more about Taiwan, and this is America, no one can deny Taiwan, even people from Tibet said Tibet is a country. It is my first time to Brooklyn, before, I think it is not safe to come, but I find the Brooklyn museum is so bright and organize. Today is the First Saturday in March, so many free programs supported by Target (department store). http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/first_saturdays.php I enjoy the exhibition tour of ancient Egypt and the storytelling time. http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/coptic/ ...

今天到紐約第五大道Saint Patrick Cathedral, 很高興看到它不像歐洲的教堂只是觀光用，它不僅記載了歷史上人們對神和耶穌的敬崇更是現代人持續敬拜神作禮拜彌撒的地方，它代表著傳統和現代，若不是傳統，不會有這麼漂亮的歌德式建築雕刻和玫瑰窗;若不是現代，人們實際的使用讓它的價值和精神永遠流傳著。 最近很多天主教的節慶，在2月25日Ash Wednesday發現街頭有些人在額頭中心點一個黑點，正覺得奇怪因為印度教是點紅點，聽語言中心的老師說才知道這是天主教徒的傳統，周三聖灰節: http://www.cathlinks.org/easter.htm 在復活節前的四十天是齋戒月，LENT，進入四十天的齋戒月之前，他們會大玩特玩舉辦carnival and parade，叫做Mardi Gras(Fat Tuesday)。 New Orleans, Louisiana , is one of the most famous carnival celebrations in the world. Archbishop Timothy Dolan不久前才正式被羅馬教宗派任到紐約當樞機主教，也是在St. Patrick 接風的。 http://www.nypost.com/seven/02242009/postopinion/editorials/archbishop_dolan_156668.htm February 24, 2009 -- from new york post New Yorkers yesterday got their first look at a man who's sure to become a fixture of the city's public life. Timothy Dolan, the Catholic archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisc., got a warm welcome at St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday morning, hours after Pope Benedict XVI announced his appointment as archbishop of New York. The new leader of 2...