The last day of July

Today is the last day of this month. Half a year passed in the twinkling of an eye. Nothing interesting. Looking forward to the Olympic Games. No more to write today. Have a rest.

About me

This is Clara. I seldom introduce myself formally except those resumes. I have no idea how to describe or estimate myself. Just a simple person, nothing more. Clara, this is a coinage name, from the similar pronunciation of " clever ". Others always don't know how to read it properly. They always mistake it as KOALA. Thus, I got a nickname koala ( in Chinese Kao3 la1) . Gosh. To be frank, I like this cute name.

Now I am 30. So terrible. I always sigh for the flying time. And always regret for what I did wrong, for what I miss, for many others. All the way I want to be a girl with strong will. But now I don't want to kill time any more. Hehe. Definitely.

I like reading, collecting stamps, surfing on the net, climbing hills and travelling. Although I stepped few places of interest, I have the wish going more sights in my life. I would like to communicate with others, exchange ideas, broaden eyes. No more to tell, dig more from my blog yourself. hahahah

Excellant blogs (Updating)

I will list some excellant blogs in my eyes here. They help me a lot. Wish they do help you, too.

1. Wangjianshuo's blog
Events (in Shanghai) that affect my life (and others')

2. The Kangroo and the Dragon
The experiences of an Australian living in China.

3. Sinosplice
Try to understand China. Learn Chinese.

High temperature

After the rain days, now every day is hot, very hot. Sometimes it reaches 38 centigrade, high temperature. Suffering the hot days, I am lazy to go out, lazy to do something. Too hot to fall asleep. Ah.......Ah......Ah......... Thinking of spending this kinda days for over 4 months, I am so annoyed. (Screaming) Who come to save me?

Trip to Big Hippo Water World

Today we went to Big Hippo Water World in the hot sun. I tried almost every one, for example, the Riptide, the Gyral Pipe, Swimming pool, Surfing board, etc. But the vertical one, I dare not to try. After playing, you will adapt to it, not that frightened. In fact, I am frightened of water. I think, it is unpredictable, changeable. But this time I take a challenge. Not only enjoyed comfortable one, but also experienced exciting ones. When I floated on the water, moving with the water up and down, I am so comfortable. Although sometimes water went into my eyes, nose, mouth, I made it. Hooray!

Beijing Olympics, upcoming

Time flies. The day is drawing near. So great and important international event, everyone is looking forward to it with full of passion. Green Olympics, Hi-tech Olympics and the People's Olympics are three themes of our bid. From the news, we know, now Beijing is a flower sea. 100 million flowerpot decorate the city. Brilliant fireworks with hi-tech will attract many people. We are ready. Today I looked through the picture of fireworks rehearsal for the Olympic opening ceremony. A word can describe: magnificent. What if one was right on the scene?

Fish follow the bait

No Free Lunch, really true. For something, you must, have to, pay for that. Absolutely.

I fell into the trap again. Maybe you had likewise experience, too. What happens is that you get a certain information, for example, answer some quesions by text messages stey by step, and you'll gain some ( e.g: call charges, QQ coins, etc. ). Reply once, it will charge you 2 yuan. At the beginning, it will offer quite easy questions. An example, ?+3=4, or ?*4=8. Easy enough and you will follow the bait and go on replying. However, when it is going on the 5th question maybe the trap is waiting for you. E.g: This question is: Find out the regular pattern and fill in the missing number ( 3, ?, 9, 17, 33 ). No doubt the answer is 5. Congrats. Then the following is: finding the missing number ( 7, 10, ?, 12, 11, 14 ). My answer is 9. It's right, I think. But it told you are wrong. So you can't get what you want. Gosh. A trick.

In a word,when you go after small gains you may suffer big loss.

Practice listening now, do it now!!

I'm determined to improve my English listening. So recently almost everyday I have been urging myself to listen. Up to now I have insisted on it for two days. The effect is not bad. I have confidence that I can make it. lol Come on, Clara, if you think you can, you can!

Step Up

"You all know what you would like to have" " What about you? What do you want?""It's nothing. For me, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't matter."

The above is excerpt from the film Step Up. One of friends recommended it to me. Really good it is. Full of excellant and hot dances. It will absolutely attract your eyes. You will be motivated by the youth and vigor. Especially that part of the hero and heroine are dancing at the pier. The scenery is very very very beautiful. Nothing to say more, go to see it, haha...

Gloomy

At noon, I went to the Agriculture Bank of China for something. But the hall was full of people, long queue. Always it is. You must spend several hours to make it. What's worse, sometimes it's your turn at last. What happened, you guess? Business suspend, or something wrong with the computer, or other issues. I experienced like this: I want to save some money at ATM. Waiting for a long time, I didn't cos the machine can't work. Gloomy...

When at the crossroad

In the life, we always have chances that we must make choices. Sometimes we can have a few ideas, but most of time we have only one answer. It's really a dilemma. Where to go on earth? Whether your decision is right or not plays an important role to the later development. During these years, I missed much, and made some improper choices. Sometimes I asked myself if only I had another chance, what shall I do? In fact, "choose", it is a problem itself, isn't it?

A joke

Too tired to blog today, so post a joke here to relax...

Once there were three turtles. One day they decided to go on a picnic. Then they got there, they realized they had forgotten the soda. The
youngest turtle said he would go home and get it if they wouldn't eat the
sandwiches until he got back. A week went by, then a month, finally a year, when the two turtles said, "Oh, come on, let's eat the sandwiches." Suddenly the little turtle popped up from behind a rock and said, "If you do, I won't go!"

Dollar Tree

I heard of Dollar Tree for the first time from Esteban. He did a part-time job there during the summar vacation. It is said that Dollar Tree is an American chain of retail stores, in which all goods are sold at $1 at most. And he told me most of goods are made in China. Oh-oh... Many different kinds of items. For example, food, drink, kitchen items, living goods, ect. I guess, it is similar to 2-yuan store in China. The policy is: Small profits and quick returns.

All along, I admire those who stand out in character. Strong will, continuously persistence, tough mind, etc. Generally speaking, one who has these characters will succeed in a certain field. I just lack of the qualities. hehe I always make many plans, always have this of that kinda ideas, always make up my mind to do sth. , but finally I seldom insist. Some of them even didn't begin. I should set sb. as my example, and urge me to learn from him.

Quality & Service

There is something wrong with my PC so that I didn't blog last night. It's the 2nd time that I have to phone Dell Customer Service ( 800-858-0950 ) for help. Last time I couldn't link to the internet. This time, what's worse, it's even power off. It can't work at all. So gloomy I am. Nevertheless, they are kind and patient to solve the problem. I should say their attitude is top and perfect. Wish the products are as good as the service. ^_^

Facing the fierce competition, every enterprise will try every means. Advertising campaigns, sales strategies, etc. They will do whatever they can do so as to stand out in a world full of competition. Without any doubt, besides what mentioned above, quality and service are two important cards. They directly play a decisive role in the success of sale. If quality is premise, service is guarantee. They both make a difference. Someone thinks service itself is a commodity. What do you think?

Childhood games

Time flies, childhood has gone with the wind. Childhood memory is gradually fading away. Do you remember those games when you were a kid?

1）slide 2）spinning top 3）popgun 4）hoop 5）plasticene

6) a game of chicken 7) fly a kite 8) hide and seek 9) hopscotch 10)skip

......

It was a pity that my Xianrenqiu died. It was just with me four months. It was a birthday gift. I put it near the computer. I looked at it when I was at work every day. I looked after it carefully. My friend was very strange, he said it was easy to keep. Why can't I keep it long. Oh, gosh. It reminded me of the goldfish that I bought last Spring Festival. They died in a week. ......How to ...

Do you know buffer fund?

This afternoon when browsing the news on CRIENGLISH, I paid attention to "buffer fund". To be true, when it comes to economic matters, I'm completely at sea. I'm a layman. I seldom read economic news. But you know, stock market has been down for a long time. At this time of last year some people predicted that stock market would be up, at least be even until the Olympic Games. However, things went contrary to everyone's wish, down...down ...down last 8 months or so up to now. From 6000 points to 2500 points ........So at the moment, I read the news, learning sth. about buffer fund as following:

A buffer fund, or an intervention fund, is designed to stabilize an overheated or an unreasonably slumping capital market. It's a legal fund established by certain official organizations, such as securities watchdogs, finance departments and stock exchanges.

It is really complicated for me. Will the buffer fund be launch? Will it save the market?

DH Character --- Gabrielle

Gabrielle used to be a model in New York. She is pretty and charming. When she met Carlos, she married him for materialistic satisfaction. However, she had an affair with her teenager gardener John secretly. Later on she had pregnant due to Carlos changing her birth-control pills into sugar pills. She was mad at it but had to accept it at last. What a pity that she lost the baby because of Caleb (Betty's old son)'s break in. The couple was eager to have a baby. They came up with many methods. All is in vain. Gaby found that her husband had relation with the maid, Xiaomei. Thus a divorce battle was on.

(To be continued)

When facing a traffic accident ...

It is really common in this noisy world. Traffic accidents happened every day around the country. When you are facing a traffic accident, what will you do? It is a test for everyone. Maybe you have had your own choice in your heart.

DH Character --- Lynette

Lynette was a successful office lady at first, who was gumptious and going to climb the corporate ladder. When she got pregnant she had to be a housewife. Although that was not what she wanted. She looked after four children at home. Naughty boys always made her headache. She must rack her brains to cope with them, but they always drove her crazy. What's worse, her husband Tom often was on a business trip. We have to say, Lynette is both a qualified wife and mother. Frustrated by the kids, Lynette managed to hire a nanny, who is really helpful. However, another problem occured. Yes, it is a temptation. You know, every wife will find solutions once she notices. ...... Lynette defended her marriage and watched out for Tom's former lover. So she arranged another company to hunt that lady. But things went contrary to her wishes, it did help the lady be promoted. Tom quitted his job out of anger to be a stay-at-home father. All was solved. Lynette could go back to her advertising career. Later Lynette became Tom's boss. How sarcastic.......(But I really believe Lynette is better than Tom.) Later on, Lynette found her husband had affair with a woman. It turned out that Tom had a 12-year old daughter. Since then, a struggle between two women was on show. Anyway, Lynette was the winner without any doubt. One day, Lynette and Nora, who was Kayla's mother, were trapped in the market ........

( To be continued )

Born in the 1970s

Are you born in the 1970s? What's in your mind?

The 1970's is a significant age for China. During that age, many events have a great influence on the generations. The Great Tangshan Earthquake、reform and opening up、establishment of diplomatic relations、birth-control policy、restoration of college entrance examination system, etc. Those born in the 1970's are in his/her thirties now, they are conservative, strong responsible, iron-minded. Many people are excellant in different fields. They have many many memories. Favorite snacks, classic pop songs, simple toys, unforgettable cartoons laid a root in our mind. Esp. those well-know nursery rhymes, for example, Twinkle, twinkle, little star; News boy; One penny; Little swallow; Clever Yixiu; Two tigers; School song, etc.

This afternoon, I listened to Song of the Smurfs. The familiar rhythm hit me again. The group of small blue creatures, evil Gargamel and his pet cat Azrael, the wizard's castle, lol In fact, good memory can't fade away forever. It always hides in your deep heart, although a corner. Now, 2008, the 50th birthday of the Smurfs. It's said that The Smurfs will be shot as a 3D movie, maybe release in 2009. Expecting ...

Rhythm of the Rain

Raining, it is! Almost lasts one month or so. Sometimes pouring rain, sometimes gentle rain. When raining, what's your feeling? Humid, relaxed, or sad? Today, raining outside, listening to the old and classic English song ---Rhythm of the Rain, it is sentimental. Seems that it's easy to remind you of some bygone days. The hero recalled his lover and the past during the falling rain. Maybe rain always stirs our memory, esp. those melancholy. It's hard to tell whether it is rain drop or tears running on his face. He can't forget the girl who has left him. It is an extravagant hope to regain the girl. He hoped that the falling rain can give ear to his love and his calling, but it is vain. It doesn't help. Let bygones be bygones. Let it be momery.

Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain
Telling me just what a fool I've been
I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain
And let me be alone again
...
...
Rain, won't you tell her that I love her so
Please ask the sun to set her heart aglow
Rain in her heart and let the love we knew start to grow
...

Beautiful tulip!

A single tulip, your feeling? Is there something touching you?

Beautiful, isn't it? She's my favorite...She's like a coy girl. I am always curious about what's inside. Peel the petal one by one... what mystery is wating for me.

We associated tulips with Holland, as windmills. Tulips are a comfortable flower choice and one that expresses perfect love. Like many flowers, different colors of tulips also often carry their own significance. Every one has its charming. Taste carefully, maybe you will fall in love with her, too.

Friday again!

Friday again! It's an expecting day from Monday, lol. It means I can relax myself at once. As usual, I spend this day without any surprise or any difference. After work, I made up my mind to walk home. Enjoying the long lost sunshine, I was thinking of some private things. All the way, no many passerby, no many cars, it's good for self-communion. It took almost one hour to cook simply. To be frank, I dislike cooking. Cooking is so trouble instead of pleasant, I think. lol So I would like to find a Mr. Right who is good at cooking. Giggling. Maybe too tired, I fell into a state of half-awake when TV was on. Thanks to a call from young boy, I didn't miss today's blog. You know, I made a plan to blog every day, if I can.

French study

For a few months, I left French study behind. Forget much. Forgetness is really the big enemy of study. Just now I read several sentences, which went against my mind. Gosh. If this condition goes on, I can imagine what will be. I said to myself that I must pull up my socks. Cos of what happened in Paris during torch relay and attitude to Dalai, I had a bad impression on President Sarkozy and France now. Since he came into power, he was not friendly to Chinese. However, language is just language, it can't be connected to politics. Right?

Today, I reviewed some basic expressions. For example, Qui est-ce? Est-ce que c'est Fanny? Que fait-il? Ou habite-t-il? Qu'est-ce que c'est? Quelle est sa couleur? etc.

DH

Soon I will finish Desperate Housewives. So long way it is. Almost two and a half months. The play began with Mary Alice's suicide. Then she acted as a watcher, told us all the stories happened in the Wisteria Lane and people in the neighborhood. It went on mainly around 5 housewives: Susan, Lynette, Bree, Gabrielle and Edie. They are all characteristic. Among them Susan was just like a silly sister. I like her best. She was a writer for children. She always made a fool of herself. I always giggle for her carelessness. What I admire most is the relationship between Susan and her daughter Julie. Really just like friends. Close friends. I am surprised at American girls maturity. In addition, I am caring about Susan's love story. I am for Mike. He is virile. Giggle. But seems that some of them treat love casually. ........ So much for today. Later I will go on the rest.

Mysterious Chinese

It is said that Chinese is the most difficult to learn in the world. Different from other western languages, Chinese is a kinda hieroglyph. It is vivid and picturesque. The other day I chatted with Amulet on MSN. We mentioned the word pao (Chinese Pinyin), which means run (English). Amulet appreciate 跑 as a pretty picture!

Amulet: the character looks like a man running with a backpack on his back! He is running to the left...

Clara: the right part of 跑 is 包 包=bag=backpack

Amulet: that is what it looks like!

Clara: and left part of 跑 is 足 足= foot

Amulet: I am sitting here thinking . . .you are kidding ... how in the world would I learn this when there are 2 words in one picture? LOL