人生如戏一场梦，何不潇洒走一回？

菩提本无树，明镜亦非台，本来无一物，何处惹尘埃？

Seniors and mentors used to say that academia is a lonely path.

I used to think why. Academics can still meet up with friends and chill out with their loved ones as and when they like, especially since they work on a flexible schedule on the condition that they are able to meet their deadlines at the end of the day.

Now I know why. Friends think that I must be enjoying life, not having to wake up early and follow any timetable. But I still have a paper to write, which to many “should be easy” because two years have been allocated to its eventual completion. People fail to realize, however, that the longer the paper is, the exponentially more time is needed to write it. Long essays easily go off-track but should stay concise and coherent from top to bottom, which itself is no mean feat to an amateurish scholar.

Some readers even think that I delibrately churn out long footnotes to boast that I have read extensively, or pretend to have done so. Footnotes to me have to serve their purposes. They serve to illustrate or elaborate upon a point, and guide readers to further reading and research. This is just one aspect of things that some in my immediate circle fail to comprehend somehow, and I find it hard to communicate it across to them.

Yes, academia is a path of loneliness. But who cares? I embark upon it because I love the scenery along the way. I’m ambivalent to mainstream stares, similar to my confession as a Jacky Wu fanboy.

Wax in the City has just closed down.

Nicholas and I have a great business plan. We will wax our customers of their hair, transplant this hair onto the scalp of hair-loss customers, and rebond the curly hair to straighten it for them. So it’s a 3-in-1 package: wax, hair, and bond in the city! How lucrative it sounds!!

The definition of an alumnus is simple: it refers to a person who has received a degree from a high school or college or university. It is perplexing then for me to see so many folks listing that they are “alum ’06, 07, 08, 09, or 10′ from UBC, UK, UP, USA, etc. when all they have received is a TRANSCRIPT for the semester that they had studied during their exchange stint. I am an alumnus of Uniqlo leh. HAHAHA.

Going global or cosmopolitan has become an identity trait. We refuse to be left behind in a rat race for the best degrees and credentials. I wonder what kind of impression people are trying to create, or what goes through their minds, when they list, amongst other things, the “top-notch” universities as their alma mater. For me, the scenario is markedly different. The National Taiwan University is not highly ranked by most international standards. Yet I choose to affilitate myself with it because I am sentimental and emotionally attached to it. In fact, I visit it at least twice a year. There you have it: it is stated in my facebook profile.

I just hate facebook. It infringes privacy, and is little more than a flaunting machine.

From strangers to friends!

I climbed Yangmingshan during winter last year. It was foggy and I could see nothing atop the mountain. Then again when the wind blew, some huts and trees became visible. 虚无缥缈、雾里看花。

To make matters worse, it drizzled, and the drizzle lasted long in the true fashion of winter. Drenched and wretched, I went to the Visitor Centre and stood before a big heater. A kind staff walked out of her counter and handed me a hair dryer. Two men approached me and as I was wondering who they could be, we made small talk. They invited me to the office where I met a male staff. Well it turned out that the two men were regular hikers of Yangmingshan and got to know the male staff during a recent trip. 一见如故，何必曾相识? In gratitude of the staff’s hospitality, the hikers visited him again to give him some premium “Gao Shan” tea. I looked cold and frail, and the male staff brewed the tea and shared it with all who were present. I had to take a group photo. This serves as another testament to how “random” the kind and candid Taiwanese can be, and how warm and friendly the Taiwanese can be towards mere strangers. Again I have been touched by the hearts of the Taiwanese.

I love travelling alone. I hate group tours. I hate strict itineraries that restrict my freedom and force me to wake up early. I don’t plan at all for my trips, which explains why I don’t even know that it is not advisable to go to Yangmingshan during winter. BUT I love making small talk and interacting with the locals. To me this is the biggest joy of travelling. For example, I may plan to spend the entire day at Jioufen but if I encounter a nice stranger somewhere along the way, I can spare a whole afternoon just talking to the person at a cafe. See what I mean??

Ok, back to my dissertation. I have only so much time here, literally. Hi, Taiwan!!

I’m sick of the immense amount of bureaucratic red tape that my friends and I would need to cut before our appeals or pleas could be answered. In some dimensions, the bureaucracy can be so aloof, complacent, insensitive, and cumbersome that it stalls itself for change. This is selective meritocracy at best, one that commends a few and does not meet the needs and desires of many.

Taiwan rocks!!

追求更多的名利、金钱，追求更好的学历、生活，到底是什么？

是上进心、还是贪心？

做人见好就收，何必贪得无厌？

一些得奖得多的艺人，会宣布从此不再领取任何奖项，让新人有机会获得肯定。

这是宽大，还是害怕？

宽大的胸襟源于真心，胆怯的心理源于无奈。

岁月不停的摧残。能力也有他的周期和不规律，谁说得准？

人在高峰时要享受成就。

人在低潮时要享受人生。

我现在多好，正享受人生。

Yuan You and girlfriend

Doris

Debby and mum!

Albert and friends

Marvin

Peggy's relatives!

Vicky

http://meltwaternews.com/prerobot/sph.asp?pub=ST&sphurl=www.straitstimes.com//Think/Story/STIStory_490358.html

There are only two types of friends: productive and destructive.

Productive friends are ones who would: do their own work and not ask others for help when these “others” are busy with their own; always honour their promises or bring you to places that they have pledged to bring you to; make the effort to see you home or meet near your home at the expense of their time and energy; always turn up early for their appointments with you (oops!) and not sleep over them and expect you to continue waiting; be concerned with your emotional and economic well-being and not gross over them; attend your performances (in my case, talks or seminars) when need be and not decline due to a lack of interest.

Destructive friends: no point spilling ink over them.

Me? I am neither this nor that. But I would always make time for friends when I am in Singapore!