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| It was a nice trip out there, although only 50% of my airline miles eligible for elite qualifications. (Still not enough for elite status in 2008) If I have to make one note for the trip, it would be a trip of "driving by".
1. We drove up the hills and tried to take pictures of the Hollywood sign. It was right after sunset and the lights were not on yet. We drove by for nothing.
2. Then we tried to go to the Griffith Observatory to see the view of LA. When we hit the split on the road, the right-hand side towards the Observatory was blocked after the sunset. Again, we drove back down the hill.
3. The other day we were heading to SeaWorld San Diego. We had paid for the parking and were looking for a parking space. It was right after 3 pm and we thought it wasn't worth to pay $60 to get in during that time. We decided to drive to San Diego downtown instead.
4. Finally on the day before we got on the flight to Rhode Island, we drove 1 hour and 45 mins to Palm Springs and wanted to take the Tramways to the top. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, we heard the parking lot shuttle announcement that there was a 2 hour wait for the tram. We were so frustrated and just took several pictures at the tram station and nearby area. That also meant we had 2 additional hours at the outlet 30 mins away from Palm Springs.
Well, I'll be back to LA in February for NIAA Board Meeting. See you soon!
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| Since I downloaded this song couple days ago, it does mean sth to me. What will happen to me next?
Shadow of the Day - Linkin Park
I close both locks below the window.
I close both blinds and turn away.
Sometimes solutions aren't so simple.
Sometimes goodbye's the only way.
And the sun will set for you,
The sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you.
Pink cards and flowers on your window,
Your friends all plead for you to stay.
Sometimes beginnings aren't so simple.
Sometimes goodbye's the only way.
And the sun will set for you,
The sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you.
[Guitar solo]
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you.
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| Everything in the world is situational. A can be better than B at point 1, but worse than B at point 2. To many of us, situational means to get the best choice out of the current situation, and I'm one of them.
Therefore, the word "situation" is key. Situation is very subjective and varies person by person. The mind
drives the interpretation, which is influenced by the surrounding
environment such as location, age, money, time, etc. There is no set equation because the judgment process is also situational, which means it can be changed based on the current facts.
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| I cannot really put down what I have been thinking in these days. They are some individual but related thoughts. I wish I can write more but just can't do it. Stay tuned for next post.... | | |
| Time flies. People come and go. Society changes. Everything is moving faster and faster. People are losing their patience from waiting in line for teller service to relationship building. Nobody seems to care the process as long as achieving the 'desired' results. Otherwise, we'll show you the door. Corporate executives are under tremendous pressure to beat the quarterly earning forecasts. Profit warnings are seen as eroding shareholder values and investors will penalize your stock performance. Did we ever learn from Enron and Worldcom? Probably not. Why do we become so impatience? It has much to do with our perspectives of time. Saving time means big bucks. We want to do more with less time. Technology does help us to increase productivity. We can be on a conference call with wireless headset, checking company e-mails, instant messeging co-workers, watching the latest news video from CNN.com on the laptop monitor, and drinking the morning coffee. We want to be multitasked to free ourselves up for leisure time. Note that our impatience is all about freeing ourselves up for other important matters, such as spending time with family, friends, and love ones. We never managed to achieve this goal. Research by OECD shows American workers are spending more time at work. It is very common for office workers in big cities to work at nights and weekends. We pay for technology and services to help us managing time and schedule: PDAs, Blackberries, personal assistants... you name it. All these add-ons spike economic activities and become the driving force of worldwide wealth creation. We have all the money and purchasing power to buy whatever we want. Are we able to spend and enjoy? We are unable to do so coz the Blackberries have filled up your day and bumped your dinner date off the schedule. Impatience turns us to be the slave of time. We are no longer in control of what we really want to do. Every day has become a firefighting experience. We have no time to slow down and think anymore. We no longer appreciate the process. Quick and dirty becomes the new buzz word. We can never turn back time. Snap decisions may not be the most appropriate and educated decisions. Again, because of impatience, one mis-step and you'll be doomed. We don't want to support and see your improvements. If you can't do the job, we'll bring in the new guy. I am just one of the crowd suffering from this impatience syndrome. I walk much faster than other people in the office. I want people to reply my e-mails within three hours or I'll ask them for delivery confirmations. Sometimes I need a break from the hectics. I can sit down at a park and just observe kids playing and people walking by. This is a much more rewarding experience than the numbers on Wall Street. | | |
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