TiMe is MOney

no time to make all of my thoughts as an articles. Time is money, especially when I am living in London. Some simple quick thoughts flashed in my mind:

• When you enjoy the moments you are consuming, also keep in mind that you have to create values, in any aspect, at the same time. the value I mentioned here does not directly refer to money. Instead, it is more like an abstract concept of value. It can be the value of yourself, like learning something, accumulating experience, even absorbing joy which can make the rest of your day happier, taking a rest to resume energy. 
• I always think work is important, but don't really know why. Now the reason has become clearer that it is not only because earning money is essential, but also the feeling of growing and achievement in my mind. That explains why I may get anxious while I've found I didn't do something I was planning to do or I would like to do. 
• I like travelling. Facing new things, people, and environments makes me stressed but energetic. I understand no one is flawless and being true to your emotions and abilities is nothing you should shame on. Only being able to truly face to yourself and human nature can make yourself calm and confident to take over the challenges coming to you. 
• Understanding yourself, including body conditions, mindset, and values, is important. It can help you to make decisions that you won't regret for, to balance your own life, to feel comfortable about yourself. 

MaKEOveR

Today's lesson from BBC's The English We Speak.

Vocabulary:

• blusher: a power or cream that is put on the cheeks to make them look pink
  you've changed the eyeshadow, blusher, and lipstick. 
• makeover: a set of changes that are intended to make a person or place more attractive
  usage: have a make over, get a makeover, give something a makeover
  Not only people but things can have makeovers.
• be fed up with: bored, annoyed, or disappointed, especially by something that you have experienced for too long
  I was so fed up with the way my husband dressed. 
• untidy
  he looked untidy all the time. 
• wardrobe: a tall cupboard which you hang your clothes
  She is showing me her new fitted wardrobes. 
• old-fashioned
  the room looked so old-fashioned.

[UK] 就這樣發生了

就這樣匆匆忙忙的來到英國了

什麼事情都做得非常的趕

不過總是把該準備的弄好

形隻影單的飛到異地來探索一下

跟之前出國一樣

出發前都沒啥感覺

這次也差不多

就像幫自己排了課表一樣

幾點到機場

幾點轉機

轉機要做什麼（畢竟也是第一次在香港機場過夜）

幾點上飛機等等等等等

就只是順著該做的事情做下去

心情上沒啥太大起伏

直到.............跨出機艙門的那一秒鐘

冷冽的空氣突然提醒我

“Hey, you are in London!"

果然眼前的主色系就是灰色

如果再亮一點點

那就很棒了吧


在紐航上始終還沒辦法適應紐西蘭的腔調

到了英國機場也是一樣

不過倒也無所謂啦～我就是“歪果仁”咩



買了Oyster Card，坐在地鐵看著乘客上上下下，

怎麼覺得每個英國中學生都長得好像哈利坡特裡面的隆恩啊 XDDDDDD

不過整個地鐵過程算很順利

其實還滿好上手就能理解的

到了Pimlico Station，超冷大風直直吹著出口

二話不說，馬上掏出毛帽備戰，我還得走好一段路到我的Hostel啊

好久沒有在手無google map direction 的協助下找路了

路標又很不明顯

好在冤枉路沒有走多少開心地看到我的Hostel/Pub出現在地平線上（你以為你在航海啊XD）

第一次走進這種Pub經營的Hostel

感覺真的很微妙

但是很快就感受到好處和溫暖

Bar裡的工作人員一邊幫我check-in，還問我要不要喝點什麼

掛著冷到不能控制的鼻涕在臉上的我馬上要了一杯熱茶！（就甘心）

來到房間

連上了網路




終於，我這“抵達英國”的27小時任務宣告完成了！心安了！

bATH in the GLOry

every time i see those people talking about what they are busy for, i feel implicitly depressed. it is so obvious and inevitable. i think they do love and enjoy what they do and lead them become professional. to me, that is what should be called for "job". i think the choice to go to UK should bring me something that i can't really predict now, which also might inspire me. 

I like learning languages. I like technology. I like science. I like nature. I like analysing and to realise the truth behind the scenes. I like design. I like contributing my abilities and earning the praise from myself, since i do know only the praise from your own heart can bring you real proud and glory. 

aRMed and DanGErouS

Vocabulary:

• werewolf: someone, who in stories, changes into a wolf at the time of full moon
• folklore: the traditional local stories and culture of a group of people
  which creatures exist in the mythology or folklore of your country?
• portray: to represent or describe someone or something in a painting
  how are animals often portrayed in cartoons and in films for children?
• yacht: a boat with sails and sometimes with engine, used for racing or travelling
  the yacht was anchored 200 metres off the Queensland coast.
• nauseous: feeling as if you might vomit
  i suddenly came over very nauseous.
• agonising: causing extreme physical or mental pain
  Within minutes he was in agonizing pain, vomiting and struggling to breathe.
• vomit: throw up
  he came home drunk and vomited all over the kitchen floor
• vicious: describes people or actions that show an intention to hurt someone or something very badly
  He had been stung by a vicious creature named after an aboriginal tribe.
• tribe: group of people, often of related families
  a tribe of Indians
• tentacle: one of the long thin parts like arms of some sea creatures
  their transparent bodies are covered from head to tentacle tip in stinger cells.
• harpoon: a long heavy spear fixed to a rope used for killing whales
• venomous/venom: poisonous/poison
• barb: the sharp part which points backwards from a fish hook, making it hard to remove it from something
• brutish: rough, unpleasant and often violent; describes guys causing troubles based on physical strength.
  he was lucky not to have brushed up against it, a brutish creature the size of a birthday cake with sixty sting-encrusted tentacle.
• flat: completely or to the greatest degree possible
  it can kill a grown man in three minutes flat.
• rattle: to make a noise like a series of knocks
  rattled by bad publicity, the tourist industry has been pouring money into box jellyfish research. 
• plough: to dig land with a plough
  in fact, it looks as though they have been plough a separate evolutionary furrow since the Pre-Cambrian period.
  plough one's furrow: follow a course of actions in which one is isolated or in which one can act independently
• teeming: many, plenty
  the sea is teeming with unknown species.
• cursory: quick and not detailed
  even a cursory survey has revealed more than a dozen underscribed ones.
• dim-witted: not intelligent
• voracious: very eager for something, very hungry
  one simple fact underlies this behaviour: box jellyfish are voracious predators.
• predator versus prey
• cuboid: a solid object with six rectangular sides
• lethal: deadly
  their predatory eating habits also explain why they have such lethal toxins.
• stalk: follow
• flimsy: easily broken or thin
  it's one thing to stalk fish, but how do you catch them when all you have are flimsy, rubbery tentacles?
• confine: to limit an activity in some way
  it was thought to be confined to northern Australian waters.
• bout: period
  he was lucky to have a short bout -- it only took twenty hours for him to stop feeling like he was going to die.

uNBalanCEd

sometimes negative emotion emerges meow~~~~

sPIn

像是陀螺 又開始轉了 一拐一拐的也不知道要轉到哪去 就是在生硬的桌上 地上 沙發上 草地上 碎玻璃上 陶醉不已 很多不平衡的紙星星 在陀螺的肚裡飛舞者 什麼時候 小男孩才要幫陀螺裝上靈活的眼睛呢？

conTRoVERsiAL

Today, after the english class, we went to a speech -- the invisible ax. it talked about the deforestation in Amazon. Laura and i were surprised that there were many people. I think we do care about that human beings are running out of the natural resources, but as an individual, what can we really help on that? in the Q&A session, some people raised the challenge that the terrible serious situation is not going to be changed only if human could make some systematic changes. I think they are right in some ways. People who have resources, powers and money should put their hearts and green-peace awareness in their business and related issues. Also, we need to make this widely spread around the societies, especially to children, young people and the big companies. Easier is set than done. However, any one would know that we have no choice to ignore these sort of issues, since there is only one earth and this is the only way.

SummARy

今天看到一本書

其實算是教育書吧

在講一個媽媽結婚前沒有出國玩

但是有了家庭之後開始帶著孩子到處玩

的旅行教育

寫的真不錯

其中提到

出發前會和孩子一起做功課

一起評估要出去的地點

回來後會叫孩子寫一份"旅行報告"

話說雖然叫旅行報告

但實際上完全讓孩子自己發揮

孩子也不因為是"作業"而做

而是因為"想做"而做

他發現

孩子把自己當美編、主筆，十分認真積極的去做這份旅行後的報告

而且還隨著時代與科技演進

從紙版變電子

我個人還滿喜歡這個點子的

旅行後的報告

其實的確可以訓練自己把抽象的獲得用自己覺得適合的方式記錄下來

可惜自己之前的旅行沒有督促自己這麼做

希望接下來的旅行可以囉

USe iT or LOse iT

vocabulary:

• retail: the activity of selling goods to the public
• justify: to give or to be a good reason for
  Do real changes take place in the brain with age to justify such grumbling?
• grumble: to complain about someone or something in an annoying way
  She spent the evening grumbling to me about her job.
• incident: an event which is either unpleasant or unusual
  how quickly you can react to fast-moving incidents on the road.
• inevitable: certain to happen and unable to be avoided or prevented
  the inevitable: something that is certain to happen and cannot be prevented
  Eventually the inevitable happened and he had a heart attack.
  the near-inevitable slowing with age also partly explains why soccer players are seen as old om their thirties, while golf professionals are still in their prime at that age.
• prime: main or most important; of the best quality; the period in your life when you are most active or successful
  The is a dancer in her prime.
• temporal lobes
  the parts of the brain known as the temporal lobes control new learning.
• vulnerable: able to be easily hurt, influenced or attacked
  i felt very vulnerable, standing there without any clothes on.
• juggle: to throw several objects up into the air, and then catch and throw them up repeatedly so that one or more stays in the air, usually in order to entertain people; to succeed in arranging your life so that you have tome to involve yourself in two or more different activities or groups of people
  Working memory is the brain's blackboard, where we juggle from moment to moment the things we have to keep in mind when solving problems, planning tasks and generally organising our day-to-day life.
• Absent-mindedness: describe someone who often forgets things or does not pay aatention ot what is happening near them because they are thing about other things
  Absent-mindedness occurs at all ages because of imperfections in the working memory system. 
• creep: to move slowly, quietly and carefully, usually in order to avoid being noticed
  creep up: if the value or amount of something creeps up, it slowly increases.
  Such absent-mindedness tends to creep up on us as we age.
• chalk: (noun.)a type of soft white rock or a stick of this rock or a similar substance used for writing or drawing.
  chalk: (verb.) to write something with a pieve of chalk
  It occurs because our plans and intentions, which are chalked up on the mental blackboard, are easily wiped out.
• stray: stray things have moved apart from similar things and are not in their expected place
  stray dog
• preoccupation: an idea or subject that someone things about most of the time.
  Stress and preoccupation can also cause such absent-mindedness.
• bleak: depressing
  the news, however, is not all bleak.
• superior: better
  the mentally active professors in their sixties and early seventies were superior to their contemporaries.
• contemporary: a person who is of the same age as you
  she didnt mix with her contemporaries, preferring the company of older people.  
• sprout: to produce leaves or to begin to grow
  he has shown that animals kept in stimulating environments show sprouting and lengthening of the connecting nerve fibres in their brains.
• beneficial: helpful, useful
  a stay in the country will be beneficial to his health
• contestant: someone who competes in a contest
• apparatus: a set of equipment or a structured system
  the divers checked their breathing apparatus.
• intrigue: to interest someone
  Such findings lead to the intriguing possibility of mental fitness training.
• faculty: capability
  just as people go bald or grey at different rates, so the same is true for their mental faculties. 

the GReat woRK MYth

Vocabulary:

• press: newspapers and magazines
  work gets a terrible press
• deprive: to take something, especially something necessary or pleasant, away from someone
  you can't function properly when you're deprived of sleep.
• scapegoat: a person who is blamed for something that someone else has done
  work has become the scapegoat for all out woes.
• woe: great problems or troubles
  unusually poor harvests have added to the country's woes.
  i'm cold and wet and i havent got enough money for my bus fare home. Woe is me. (said to express how unhappy you are)
• persuasive
• as far as something is concerned: if we are discussing or thinking about a particular thing
  As far as work is concerned, we've never had it so good.
  As far as unemployment's concerned, a change of government would be a good idea.
• maternity: the state of being a mother
  a lot of firms offer longer maternity leave.
• sabbatical: a period of time when college or university teachers are allowed to stop their usual work in order to study or travel, usually while continuring to be paid
  a third of firms now offer sabbaticals.
• rhetoric: part of a talk or speech; clever language which sounds good but is not sincere or has meaning
  The rhetoric about longer working hours also needs to be put in perspective.
• in perspective: an object or person that is in perspective has the correct size and position in comparison with other things in the pictures
  the rhetoric about longer working houes also needs to be put in perspective.
• despite: without taking any notice of or being influenced by
  Despite all the improvements in work over recent decades, there is still an ingrained attitude that happiness lies outside work.
  He managed to eat a big lunch despite having eaten an enormous breakfast.
• ingrained: (of beliefs) so firmly held that they are not likely to change.
  the belief that you should own your house is deeply ingrained in British society.
• alienated: being separated from
  alienation: separation
  He described workers being alienated from the product of their labour.
• constitute: to form or make something
  what constitutes the alienation of labour?
• mortify: to cause someone to feel extremely ashamed or embarrassed
  it does not develop his physical and mental energy but mortifies his body and ruins his mind.
  he'e mortified by the fact that at 38 he still lives at home with his mother.
• dubious: feeling doubt or not feeling certain
  work is becoming too important for it to be of dubious quality.
• poll: a study in which people are asked for their opinions about subject or person
  according to a poll by recruitment consultancy
• prevalent: happening often
  In truth, they are simply made to feel as if they have a problem because of prevalent attitude.
• futile: (of actions) having no effect or achieving nothing
  futility
  the shift of work towards the centre of our lives demonstrates the futility of much of the current debates about "work/life balance".
• stack up: match
  yet the idea that it is being forced upon us without our choice just doesn't stack up.
• ultimately: finally
  Ultimately, our goal must be to begin seeing work as an intrinsic part of our life.
• intrinsic: being an essential and basic characteristic of a person or thing
  maths is an intrinsic part of the school curriculum.
• adjunct: something attached or connected to a larger or more important thing
• don: a college teacher especially at Oxford or Cambridge University
• manifesto: a written statement of the beliefs, sims, and policies of an organisation.
  he has the right manifesto for the future of work
• abolish: to end an activity officially
  abolition
  the abolition of slavery
  that i mean abolishing the distinction between work and leisure.
• leisure: the time when you are not working
  most people only have limited amount of leisure time.
• lousy: very bad
  employers keep workers in lousy jobs by granting them some leisure time.
• strive: to try very hard to do something
  we should strive to be employed in such a way that we dont realize what we are doing is work.
• downpayment: an amount of money that you pay at the time that you buy something, but which is only a part of the total cost of that thing.
  it is indeed time to abandon the notion of work as a downpayment on life. 
• sap: to make someone weaker or take away strength or an important quality from someone.
  the ones that continue to stereotype work as intrinsically sapping, demeaning and corrosive.
• corrosive: a corrosive substance causes damage by chemical reaction.
  the corrosive influence of racism

HapPINeSS

the article we learned last week :

the latest global analysis of happiness and satisfaction levels shows that the most satisfied people tend to live in latin america, western Europe, and northern america, whereas eastern europeans are the least satisfied.

over the past decade, the study of happiness has become a bona fide discipline. as a result, government policy advisers are getting interested and politicians are using the research as the basis for new strategies.

what above all else has made systematic study possible is data gathered from hundreds of surveys measuring happiness across different cultures, professions, religions, and socio-economic groups.
they can investigate the impact of money and inequality.
we can now show which behaviours are risky as far as happiness goes. We should eventually be able to show what kind of lifestyle suits what kind of person.

while it is tempting to hold up those nations that report the highest levels of happiness as a model for others to follow, this may be unwise.
first, the word "happiness" has no precise equivalent in some languages.
secondly, "satisfaction" is not quite the same thing as "happiness".
thirdly, different cultures value happiness in very different ways.
    in individualistic western countries, happiness is often seen as a reflection of personal achievement. this pressure to be happy could lead people to over-report how happy they feel.
    in the more collectivist nations in Asia, people have a more fatalistic attitude towards happiness. in Asia cultures, the pursuit of happiness is often frowned on, which in turn could lead people to under-report.
How satisfied a person is with their life depends on how successfully they adhere to their particular cultural standard.

One of the most significant observations to come from research findings is that in individualised nations, happiness has no risen with average incomes.
the desire for material goods, which has increased with average income, is a "happy suppressant".

Since nothing about materialism can help you find happiness, governments should discourage it.

the key to making people happier is to shift the emphasis from economic well-being to personal development, and to discourage the pursuit of social status.
paradoxically, by striving too hard to climb the global happiness rankings, governments are in danger of turning the pursuit of happiness into yet another competitive quest for status - just what researchers have shown is a sure path to making people miserable.

riPPLes

a mess outside 

and also 

a mess inside

Uk

隨著時間

心裡有時也開始萌生乾脆去英國的時候不要找正職(雖然也不是說我想找就找得到)

來真的打工渡假的念頭

只是不管最後是甚麼

多少還是憂慮著

自己是不是太奢侈了

老媽某方面真的很了解我啊

noT eNOUGh

不知道




看著別人的驚歎號

自己卻只能盯著大問號

如果配著隨遇而安  容易滿足  不會想東想西的腦袋瓜就算了

偏偏

很愛想

很愛考自己

很天真

但又還不夠爛漫





真不知道

voCAbulaRY

hu~ we had lots of vocabulary this time. finally i have done it!

vocabulary:

• ubiquitous
• identify:
  Which person in the photos do you identify most closely with?
• adjectives to describe personality:
• ambitious
• anti-social  < >  sociable
• altruistic  < >  self-centred
• courageous  < >  timid
• balanced  < >  obsessive
• easy-going  < >  highly-strung
• phantom
• illusion: something that is not really what it seems to be
• compelling: get your attention
  This illusion is extraordinarily compelling the first time you encounter it.
• striking: attracting a lot of attention
  There is a very striking illusion in which you can feel a rubber hand being touched as if it were your own.
• conceal: to precent something from being seen or known
  i tried to conceal my surprise when she told me her age.
• uncanny: strange or mysterious
  you will have an uncanny feeling that you are actually being stroked on the fake hand.
• sensation: a general feeling caused by something that happens to you
  the  sensations you feel will seem to emerge directly from the plastic.
• discrepancy: difference
  they believe this illusion is strong enough to overcome the discrepancy between the position of your real hand that you can feel and the site of the plastic hand you can see. 
• twist: the change information so that it gives the message you want it to give
  You're twisting my words - that's not what i said at all.
• resemble: to look like or be like someone or something
  The object your helper touches doesn't even need to resemble your hand.
• acquaintance: a person that you have met but do not know well
  this time get your acquaintance to rub and tap the surface if in from of you.
• matching: having the same colour or pattern as something else
  a green dress with matching green handbag
• extraordinarily: very, more than usual
  this illusion is extraordinarily compelling the first time you encountered it.
• blow: a hard hit with a hand or a weapon
  if you threaten the table by aiming a blow at it, the person winces. 
• wince: to show pain suddenly and for a short time in the face, often moving the head back at the same time
• perspiration: sweat
• incorporate: to include something as part of something larger
  It is as if the table becomes incorporated into a person's own body image.
• perceive: to come to an opinion about something
  the subject perceives a threat to the table as to themselves.
• perception: a belief or opinion
  we have to change the public;s perception that money is being waisted.
• limbs
• intact: complete and in the original state
  put their intact arm on the reflective side
• cramp: a sudden painful tightening in a muscle
• likelihood: the chance that something will happen
  what is the likelihood that what i see and what i feel could be identical simply by chance?
• intellect: the ability to understand and to thing in an intelligent way
  our intellect cannot override.
• inanimate: having none of the characteristics of life
  even a lifetime of experience that an inanimate object is not part of your body is abandoned in light of the perception that it is. 
• premise: an idea or theory
  one premise that seems to be beyond question is that you are anchored in your body.
• anchor: to make something or someone stay in one position by fastening them firmly
• forsaken: to leave someone forever
  this obvious fact is temporarily forsaken.

SomEwHeRe

Lost in the darkness
Hoping for a sign
Instead there's only silence
Can't you hear my screams?

Never stop hoping
Need to know where you are
Cause one thing's for sure
You're always in my heart

I'll find you somewhere
I'll keep on trying
Until my dying day
I just need to know
Whatever has happened
The truth will free my soul

Lost in the darkness
Tried to find your way home
I want to embrace you
And never let you go

Almost hope you're in heaven
So no one can hurt your soul
Living in agony
Cause I just do not know
Where you are

I'll find you somewhere
I'll keep on trying
Until my dying day
I just need to know
Whatever has happened
The truth will free my soul

Wherever you are
I won't stop searching
Whatever it takes me to know

開始吧

轉眼就十月中了，該開始認真準備出門的事。之前自己猶豫徬徨的心情也大致調整了，家人的態度也慢慢地軟化和接受，這些都花了不少時間，但是能從內從外都有更明確的支持，這還是很值得的。現在，就是挑戰自己準備的能力和克服自己內心面對未知的不安吧!

這次出門，最希望可以在當地找到收入不錯的正職或是時間夠長的簽約工作，倒也不是期待能未來都在那邊工作，只是希望當地的收入能滿足當地的支出罷了。最完美的情況是一份同產業類型的工作(例如軟體工程師)，這樣就還能體驗不同文化的工作，還不用太擔憂回來後有工作斷層的問題，果真如此就真是實現我心中的夢想啦！

不過，凡事要做最壞的打算。找不到正職，當然就來找打工吧！其實這不算是最壞的選擇，只是透過很不一樣的經歷來補貼生活的錢。這時候的重點應該就會是擴增視野，藉由不同的嘗試探索不同的自己。當然，運氣好的話，希望是一份有趣且值得學習的工作嚕！

那最壞的打算是甚麼？應該就是賺不到錢，沒有工作吧！這意味著我更要謹慎管理能運用的資源，好讓自己還是能好好體驗國外生活。相對的，空閒的時間應該不少，便能盡可能的利用深度旅行來探索自己和這個世界。

其實這三種計畫應該沒有甚麼好壞之分，說不定最後收穫最少的是我本來以為最完美的選擇也不一定。只想告訴自己，妥當的準備自己在好的心態下出發，過程平安最重要，至於其他的部分，就隨興而致吧！既然都選擇出門了，就努力創造未來吧！

題外話，雖然深知待在國外一段時間，英文也不一定能顯著進步，但還是要強迫自己在這方面努力，期許可以達成自己的目標吧！

stOp

can time stop ?

leAVe

那種焦躁

那種心情

我什麼時候可以擺脫掉呢