迎來送往

舊同事鳳凰大約三星期前從香港到北京工作。忙於找房子買傢俱，我下班或放假時也去幫忙一下。
我跟鳳凰在大學時認識，我們念同一個主修科，但我早一年畢業。畢業後的幾年從來沒聯繫過，直到幾年前我們進同一家公司工作才又遇上。兩年多前，她換工作，我後來也來了北京工作。我回香港，或是她來北京玩的時候，我們有碰過面。
同一時間，有幾個在北京的朋友要走了，要回香港或其他地方工作去。當中有一個，是我在香港時共事過的，她比我早大約半年到北京，也算是介紹了我在北京的第一份工作吧。我們兩個也想換換環境。不同的是，她去另一個城市工作，而我在北京找新工作。
在教會的兩個朋友也要離開北京了。我在北京教會的生活是很歡樂的，這一家教會給我不少的支持。人家走，雖然說科技縮短了人與人間的距離，今後還是可以透過不同的方法聯繫，還是有點不舍的。
大抵大家都是因為工作的原因來北京，感覺就好像是旅遊人，來北京後，遇上各樣的事情，有讓人窩心的(窩心在南方的意思是心裏很舒服)，有很讓人挫敗的，有讓人很喜歡北京的，也有讓人想馬上離開的。有的人可能會在這裏一直住下去，但更多的人會因為家庭和工作等原因而離開，關鍵是你會待在北京多長時間。
我想起龍應台曾經說過的一句話。她在“親愛的安德列”一書的講座中，談到她與兒子常常分開兩地的感受，她說人與人之間的相處是有quota的，這個quota會有用盡的一天。
這麼說好像很悲哀。其實不是。聖經傳道書3章1節這麼說：“凡事都有定期，天下萬務都有定時。”因此，聚散也有時。
而傳道書3章11-14節 也說：“神造萬物，各按其時成為美好。又將永生安置在世人心裏。（永生原文作永遠）然而神從始至終的作為，人不能參透。我知道世人，莫強如終身喜樂行善。 並且人人吃喝，在他一切勞碌中享福。這也是神的恩賜。我知道神一切所作的，都必永存，無所增添，無所減少。神這樣行，是要人在他面前存敬畏的心。”
人的聚散，在神眼中，是美好的，人喜樂行善和吃喝，也是神的恩賜。既然神安排了我們在同一個時空和地點相遇，就好好珍惜。
我，到現在為止，還是想留在北京的。

The year of 2010

Thanks God. The year of 2010 is prosperous for me.

I have experienced failure, but on the other hand, I have learned more about my weaknesses and am motivated to remedy them.

I felt bored and frustrated living in a far away city alone, but I have made some friends here.

Good or bad. I hope I can make progress in 2011.

Works will be frustrating from time to time, and I have to focus on what I want to do.

P.S How do I spend my New Year's Eve and the New Year?
1) Eat with three colleagues, and discuss important current affairs of the country first. Then go to the home of HK friends, TL and SL, to play board games and count down.
2) Lunch with a group of university students on January, and have a vegeraterian dinner with some friends on Jan 1.
3) Church, plus board games at TL and SL's home.

我為什麼相信基督教

我為什麼信？

來北京前，真的沒有預期會給人問到為什麼相信基督教。在香港，一向比較少跟朋友談宗教。以前一直覺得基督教在中國不太普遍。當初找到一家教會落腳就很開心。
但在北京，我曾多次給問到為什麼相信基督教。有人跟我說他在上海看到的基督徒都是很開心的人，又有人在閑餘讀聖經。

幾次給問到為什麼信，我都是簡單的一句「因為我相信是真的」就把問題輕輕帶過。因為不知道如何說起，也就沒有詳細解釋。

我想在這裡解釋一下。

我自小就相信造物主的存在，凡事冥冥中有主宰。小時候有上過教會，但後來又沒有上。中學就讀教會學校，學校有傳教的活動。我自稱相信基督教，但是其實不太知道基督教是什麼，對宗教也沒有什麼個人經歷。

中學六年級，我在哥的帶領下，再次返教會，後來比較穩定得出席教會活動，聽弟兄姊妹分享他們對基督教的認識及經歷，才開始思考信仰。

在大二時，要辦學生報。有一天，我要連續做2-3個訪問，下午要回校園上課。跟現在的工作相比，一天幾個訪問，實在不算什麼。但當時我覺得很忙。

我在想既然人最終會死，為什麼要那麼辛苦，幹嗎要做那麼多的事？何不馬馬虎虎過日子？又或者，人活著的意義是什麼？

基督教信仰的核心，就是相信上帝是創造天地萬物的主。而人都犯罪，但上帝的兒子耶穌基督就來到世間，為人的罪給釘在十字架上，洗淨人的罪。上帝是愛人的，祂終會有一天接我們到天家。上帝是愛人的，人的一言一行祂也看在眼內。

這是一個很重要的盼望。就是這個盼望，讓我知道，人不應該馬馬虎虎過日子，因為天父在看顧我們的每一天，而且祂在將來會接我們。人不是過了今生就算，是由將來的。

既然上帝安排耶穌為人釘十架，就證明他是愛人的，祂不會置人於不顧。

「你們看那天上的飛鳥，也不種，也不收，也不積蓄在倉裡，你們的天父尚且養活它。你們不比飛鳥貴重得多嗎？」（馬太福音6章26節）

上帝真的很看重人的。

不是說信主後，所有困難都會消失。基督教所宣揚的，是人在面對困難時，內心有神所 給的平安。我剛來北京沒多久，食道經常感到灼熱疼痛。在網上查一下，發現這是胃酸倒流或食道癌的症狀。我的情況持續了兩個多月，吃了一些減胃酸的藥都沒 好。我一度非常驚，但後來透過不斷的祈禱，我更確定了無論檢查的結果如何，上帝一定會幫助我面對，人的心就平安了。檢查結果是胃酸反流，吃藥後就好。

胃酸反流後，我發現我的體重下降了7kg。剛好我的一個朋友當時給診斷患上淋巴癌。淋巴癌的症狀之一，就是體重在半年內下降10%。我又開始驚了。當時我心想：「上帝，袮是不是在玩啊？我再向香港平平安安，怎麼來到北京就常常出事了？」又經過一輪禱告，內心又平安了。
「但我復活以後，要在你們以先往加利利去。」（馬可福音 14章28節）

「門徒來叫醒了他，說，夫子，夫子，我們喪命啦。耶穌醒了，斥責那狂風大浪。風浪就止住，平靜了。」（路加福音8章24節）

主耶穌是比我們先走一步。祂被釘十架前，已經經歷過種種苦難。在釘十架時，祂歷盡悲痛。我相信，我們現在經歷的種種困難，主已經經歷過，並跨越了。這位連風浪都可以止住的主，是有能力，也必定會幫助我們。

上帝給人盼望，這盼望是在人面對困難的時候，祂會跟人一起面對。祂告訴我們，人是有將來的。盼望真的是很重要，沒盼望的生活很辛苦。

在皇崗想起北京

「你來北京一年都沒有，你對北京的感覺，未必會發展到喜愛北京的。」
最近想起這句半年前香港同鄉會的會友﹝即教友﹞對我說的話。
十月一日當天經深圳回香港。在深圳的街道穿梭，途經一些最近10年才落成的住宅區，我真有點感覺已回到香港。過去間中都有去深圳吃喝玩樂，直到十月一日才覺得深圳很像香港。那些住宅區竟然令我想起淘大花園及大角咀。
居於深圳的香港人問過在北京的日子過得如何，我都不知道怎麼說，只簡單的回應了：「ok呀，不錯。」
坐皇崗過境巴士時，想起這個問題，就想起了同鄉會會友的那句話。回家的途中竟然想起了北京。

「你來北京一年都沒有，你對北京的感覺，未必會發展到喜愛北京的。」
同鄉會會友的那句話，明示了若果我在北京逗留長一點，就會多喜愛一點北京。

是的。

的確，北京城區好像沒有什麼特別好玩的地方。我不喜歡蒲酒吧，所以三里屯等地不太吸引我。故宮、長城和頤和園等歷史名勝去一兩次便夠。比較吸引的，應該是北京的週邊地方吧。
在京城的工作，不想多說了，天天應付突如其來的狀況，令人疲於奔命，有放下一切逃跑去玩的衝動。
但我確實是比半年前更喜愛京城。一個很實在的原因，是京城的居住空間比香港的大。另外，自己一個人住，多了私人空間。

最重要的，是人與人之間的關係吧。
我喜歡我的同事們。縱然疲倦與不屑管理方式，我還是喜歡跟同事們合作，最起碼大家都有要做好一件事的態度，同事們之間﹝最少對我﹞起碼不自私，很多事情都有傾有講的。情況好像我在英文虎報工作時一樣。
我享受每週下班後跟同事們吃宵夜，假期一起出外玩玩。沒有什麼驚天動地鬼神哭的玩意，但我享受。
而香港同鄉會﹝是北京國際教會的粵語組﹞是另一個我喜歡的地方。雖然因為工作的原因，常常不能出席聚會，但我還是喜歡跟弟兄姊妹相處的。
你喜歡一個城市與否，人真的是一個重要因素。

我估計，如果我換工作或離開北京，我會非常不捨得。

主日學

上週日教了一課主日學。主日學的意思，大致是指在主日﹝即週日﹞上課，學習一些與信仰有關的內容。主日學的對象，一般都是學生或年輕人。
這是我首次教主日學，教授的內容是教會的歷史，由啟示錄後開始，直到君士坦丁堡把基督教列為國教為止。中間要提及當時皇帝對教會的迫害及異端等等。
由於準備有一點倉促，不太能引導少年人討論。我與partner大部份時間都在讀稿。
那班少年人，反應快，願意提問題，亦願意回答問題。希望下次可以跟他們有更多互動。
下次的內容包括十字軍及教會分裂等。
我一直都不太了解教會歷史，必需要花多些時間找多些資料。
可以負責這個班，我其實很開心。

爨底下川 Cundixiachuan

爨，意思是爐灶，粵語讀村，普通話讀cun4。這是一條有400多年歷史的小村落。




一直都想去北京的郊區旅遊，但卻一直沒有實現計劃。
上週未，跟2位人去了這條村。
早上5時起床，趕往車站坐7時半的大巴，熬兩個小時，終於到達爨底下川。
在這條村亂行閒逛，十分寫意。剛好當天遊人不太多，天氣不熱，更有微微的涼風，配上小村寧靜的環境，完全可以放下平日磨人工作的煩惱。



是夜住在村中，3個人合共50元。客棧的餐廳，面對大山與小屋的屋頂，清晨在餐廳發呆半小時，簡直是人生一大快事。



I want to visit suburb of Beijing for long, but I have never gone to such place until last week. I went to a 400-year-old village, Cundixiachuan, with two other people last week.
We got up at 5am for the bus scheduled at 730am. It takes two hours to reach the village.
I hang around the village, which is relaxing. There were not many tourists on that day, and this was a breezy day. I could forget my troublesome job in this tranquil village.
We stayed at a village house at night, costing 50 yuan for three people.
The restaurant at the village house faces the mountain and the rooftops of other small houses. I just sat at the restaurant doing nothing for half an hour, which I enjoy very much.

信樂團 - One Night In 北京

前天跟組長唱K FAREWELL，他唱了這一首歌。我只有一個字形容：勁。

Goodbye team leader, and wish you all success

Work over the past two weeks is not smooth because the supreme leaders screw everything up with their “new” and “revolutionary” ideas, which makes me more frustrated with the management.

And added to that negative sentiment is the departure of my excellent team leader, S, who is willing to take responsibilities, considerate to team members, and, say no to the unreasonable and impractical demands of the supreme leaders.

He has helped me a lot over the past months in getting used to the company, which I increasingly dislike.

I have expected his departure few months ago. Well, no one will stay in the company forever, and it is normal to have people coming in and out. But still I am saddened hearing his departure not only because I am worried about my work, but also it feels like that a friend is leaving for studying in overseas.

One of my colleagues described the team leader as a “robot,” who is energetic all the time dealing with various staff – both trivial and important ones. He is always caught in the middle of the management and team members, but he is not frightened to truly express his views to the management and not frightened to make decisions even though it involves risks. He bears a lot.

A robot needs to be recharged, and the leader needs to take some rest.

S, you are a great people to work with, and one of the best people I have worked with. You truly are. I truly wish you can put your mind at rest before stepping into a path that leads to a bright future. You truly deserve a promising future. May God bless you. Goodbye.

June 23

In Beijing. Nothing special has happened actually. My aunt was here with me. She cooked some good dishes, including abalone.
I bought some ice-creams for colleagues, who later treated me a night meal after work.
Nothing special, but satisfied.

School life – Episode Five, Rise in chocolate ration

The new year was approaching, and the Globe International School wanted to make up some good news. Remember, just make up, and no one was sure whether the good news would really happen at the end as the school management claimed.
Students of the school receive chocolate ration each month.
The big brothers of the school, which are nicknamed by some students as Gang of Four, and the supreme leader announced on the eve of the new year that the chocolate ration for each student will be increased.
Everyone in the school wants more chocolate, and they are all excited about the announcement.
However, right after the new year holiday, the Gang of Four made another announcement.
“For better management of the school, and to encourage you to work harder, we have imposed a work quantity for you. That means you have to hand in more homework and writings. Those who have done homework more than the quotas we have imposed will receive more chocolate, and those who have done less will of course receive less chocolate.”
Again, the students are all confused. Writing is an abstract thing. Sometimes it takes a week to write an excellent piece because of the extensive research work and it is not easy to write beautifully and vividly.
But the students are willing to work hard, and most of them have handed in more than the quotas.
That means the school will have to give more chocolates, and it is of course a burden to the school. Where can they find more chocolates to give out?
So the Gang of Four announced another policy. The homework and writings will be graded. Only those who have an A grade will receive full chocolate ration. Students with B grade will see their ration reduced by 10 percent, and a 20 percent ration reduction for C grade. Therefore, no one is sure whether they can get more chocolates at the end.
If it is a burden to the school, why does the management announce the chocolate rise?
The answer is not difficult to guess. By announcing a chocolate rise, the management can surely tell people that they are a good and healthy management who do want to give students more. Some students cannot get more chocolates just because they are not up to expectations. It is the students fault, and there is nothing wrong with the school.
The truth can really be distorted and manipulated.

My church in Beijing

I have been joining the Beijing International Christian Fellowship in recent months. I cannot join all of the activities because of my work schedule.
Basically, I have joined two fellowship groups of the church. Most, or probably all, of the members are from Hong Kong.
One of the characteristics of an international church is that you can constantly see people moving in and out. There are newcomers to the church almost every week, and, of course, people leaving Beijing, either go back home or other cities because of work requirement. I have been in the church for a few months, and three people I know have left already.
This is an international church, which is established for non-Beijingers who come to the capital for studies and career development. And it is normal for people coming and leaving.
The church has congregations/ worships in about 10 languages, such as English, Putonghua and Cantonese. I go to the English and Cantonese worship.
The sermons over the week are about shedding lights and salt in workplace. I do believe it is an important message that I should learn. I occasionally lost temper at office. I think I should somehow control my temper.

P.S – I have not written for this blog as frequently as I used to. This is not because I have nothing to write about, but I do not know how to put them into words. I still wish to continue my school life story, and I will go to the remote part of Beijing for weekends. Hope I can take some pictures and write about the trips.

性與關節 Sex and arthritis

最近因為關節有點痛，去看中醫調理一下。中醫博大精深，既然來到內地，就試一試。
醫師在我身上按壓檢查，問了一些問題。這些問題完全是我意料不到。
「你結婚了嗎？」
「沒有。」
「那你與女朋友每月進行多少次？」
「嗯‧‧‧‧‧」
「行房」
「我沒有女朋友。」
「那自慰呢？」
「嗯‧‧‧‧‧」

我在想究竟這些問題對關節痛有什麼關係。

醫師解釋說：「腎管骨。行房時，你用上身體的五臟六腑。但在自慰時，五臟六腑不是全都用上。所以行房是對健康有益的。」

醫師繼而進行針灸，並說我要好好補腎。

正當我在疑惑他是否會建議我去召妓時，他嚴肅地說：「找個女朋友吧。」

他很嚴肅，我卻想笑。

一位朋友知道我的信仰，說：「女朋友是沒有用的，你要結婚。」

I feel pain in the joins these days and some people believe it is arthritis. Believing that I should try Chinese medicine on the mainland, I went to see a Chinese medicine practitioner yesterday

The doctor did some checks by pressing my body and asking some questions. The questions are really out of my expectations.

“Are you married?” the doctor asked.
“No.”
“How often do you do it with your girlfriend?”
“Ah…..”
“Lovemaking.”
“I have no girlfriend.”
“How about masturbation?”
“Ah……” I am wondering how is it related to arthritis problem.

“Kidney is related to the bones and joints,” the doctor said. “In lovemaking, you are actually exercising the vital organs of your body (heart, spleen, liver, lungs and kidneys). However, not all vital organs of the body is in use during masturbation. So Doing it several times a month is beneficial to your body and health.”

Then the doctor performed an acupuncture on me and advised me to do something to “preserve my health.”

When I was about to ask what can I do without a wife or girlfriend, and whether I should hire prostitute, he said, “Go find a girlfriend.”

The doctor is serious, and I have difficulty restraining my laugh.

My friend, who knows my religious belief, said, “Merely a girlfriend is useless. You should get married.”

Can I say our youngsters are spoiled nowadays.

An elderly man came to our office a few months ago. He approached the supervisor and said his granddaughter or daughter had sent a job application letter to the company, and asked if the company would hire her or grant her an interview. The supervisor, of course, did not give any affirmative answer to the question.
A few days ago, I went to Tianjin with my parents. We stumbled upon a large group of people in their late 40s, 50s or even 60s in a park. These people are not protesting against the authority, nor enjoying a day-off in the park. They are looking for a spouse for their children.
These parents write down the basic information of their children on a piece of paper. The information includes job and whether the child has an apartment.
The parents just keep waiting to see if the parents of other children will be attracted to theirs.
I talked to one of the parents, and he said he comes to the park every day.


One of the parents.

What’s wrong with youngsters, or parents, nowadays?
If the girl really needs a job, why doesn’t she come to our office asking for it? It seems that the girl has done nothing apart from writing an application letter, and she lets her father or grandfather begging for a job for her. Or the old man is so desperate that he comes to our office without telling the girl?
And why let your parents standing in the park a whole day to find you a spouse? I personally believe that this kind of match-making isn’t work. And if you are not destined to meet your Ms/ Mr Right, then so be it.

School life – Episode Four, Nationality counts

Peter enjoys the writing class of Globe International School (GIS). He loves writing, but he is not good at it, and therefore, he will ask the native English teachers (NETs) of the school to polish his composition before submitting to the writing teacher, whose mother tongue is not English.
The writing teacher spotted some grammatical mistakes, like missing an “s” in the verbs, and some repetitive words in a sentence.
Well, Peter believes he can have a good laugh about these mistakes, and some minor corrections will fix the problems. These are careless mistakes, or probably typo errors.
But the writing teacher is a fussy man, who fails to appreciate creative writing style but think big of himself by picking up minor errors.
“Who polish this writing?” he marked on the composition, before sending a copy to the Big Brother.
He repeatedly asked Peter which NET polished his story, and Peter reluctantly said the name.
“Even junior primary school student will not make such mistake,” the fussy teacher said.
“OK, I’ll fix it,” Peter said.
“Where does the NET come from?” the fussy man asked.
What the heck? Peter thought. How does one’s nationality relate to his English standard and capability?
“He is back home,” Peter replied, trying to divert the topic.
But the fussy man did not back down. “Where does he come from?”
“Canada,” Peter said, of course reluctantly.
“Oh, Canada,” the fussy teacher said, before going away.
Peter believes asking someone’s nationality after something wrong has happened is offensive, insulting, and disrespectful to others, and it may be an offense in some countries.
The school has been established for several decades, and employing NETs for quite a number of years. And the people here still behave like that.

School life – Episode three, Involuntary volunteer

As a self-claimed well established school, Globe International School (GIS) sometimes does charity work and encourages students to contribute. On several occasions, students are encouraged to donate money or be volunteers for charity groups.
This week, a NGO approached several schools in the district, including GIS, and asked for some volunteers to help them build an orphanage for children whose parents died in disaster.
Most of the students are willing to give a helping hand, and have signed up to be a volunteer. Some signed up for 100 hours of volunteer work, and some for 30 hours, some for 10 hours, depending on their availability.
When the students were happily doing the good deeds, the Big Brothers seemed unhappy and summoned all students to the assembly.
Here is the message of the Big Brothers.
“Thank you for signing up to be a volunteer. But you know, the total number of volunteer work hours signed up by you guys is the least compared with that of other schools in the district. In that sense, we are not performing up to expectations. I encourage you to do more volunteer work for the orphanage. So think about whether you can do more and how you can do more. And of course, whether you want to do more is up to your decision. It is your time.”
OK, the students thought, It is up to our decision and let us think whether we could do more.
But shortly after that meeting, the Big Brothers summoned the top student of each class to another meeting. And the message, or perhaps order, is as follow,
“As the top student of each class, you will need to do 500 hours of volunteer work. That’s it. Dismiss.”
Encouragement is a lie. Enforcement is true.

School Life – Episode Two, Penalty

Students of the Globe International School (GIS) were anxiously waiting in the classroom. This was the announcement day of the mid-term examination result.
When Peter got the exam result slip, he was shocked. He found out that his attendance grade is deducted, and that his general exam points have also gone down.
Peter demanded an explanation from the headmaster, who is dubbed as the Big Brothers by students.
The headmaster, Lion, told Peter that his attendance grade is deducted because he skipped school for one day.
“Aren’t we supposed to have one day off from class each month?” asked Peter.
“No, we do not allow that anymore,” Lion said.
“When? Why there is no one telling me that the policy is cancelled?” asked Peter, confused but angry.
“It has been cancelled. I don’t need to tell anyone. I can change policy whenever I want,” Lion replied.
Fine, Peter thought, because he really took an extra day off from class last month. But he was still puzzled about the deduction in his examination points.
“Because you took an extra day off, so you could not complete some class work and thus your examination points were deducted,” Lion told Peter.
What a ridiculous explanation, Peter thought. Yes, he has taken an extra day off, but he always does extra class work on other school days, and the quantity of class work he has completed is no less than his classmates.
“You already lowered my attendance grade. How can you also deduct my examination points? It is double penalty!” yelled Peter.
“Bingo. It is. It is my job, constantly finding excuses to lower your exam points,” Lion said.
When Peter wanted to say how unfair the policy is, his classmate Sherry interrupted. Sherry’s exam points were also deducted and Lion said it was because she took a day of sick leave last month.
“Are you kidding me?” Sherry said.
“No, I am not. I am serious. Because you took sick leave, you could not complete some class work, and thus your exam points were deducted,” Lion said.
“I am sick,” Sherry defended.
“That does not matter,” Lion said.
“I still have to go to school even if I am sick?” Sherry asked.
“I am afraid you have to,” Lion said.
“What’s the point of that? If I was sick or had a fever, I still could not do the class work even though I came to school,” Sherry said.
“You still have to come to school and try to do some class work,” Lion said.
“I would be spreading the diseases to others if I came to school when I was sick,” Sherry said.
“I don’t care about that. You have to be present even though you are sick, or you pay the price for being absent. This is an order,” Lion said.
Sherry was speechless, and she was wondering whether this Mr Lion had been sick before. Mr Lion had been sick and needed to stay in hospital for days, and Sherry wondered whether he had been penalized for that.

School Life – Episode One, Dictation

In this story, everything happened inside a university or college. This is a poorly written story, just about what I am interested in and what I think.

School name: Globe International School (GIS)
Main character: Peter, a student

Peter was shocked today because his English teacher Tan Ping, an old fashioned guy who cannot think of anything else but asking students to memorize vocabularies, told him that there will be a dictionary dictation next week.
“What?” Peter exclaimed.
“Dictionary dictation. Please go home to memorize the dictionary. If you fail to pass the dictation, you will be given lashes,” the teacher said. “And remember, we are learning American STYLE English. If you write in British STYLE, you will lose points.”
“What is the passing mark and how many lashes if I fail?” Peter asked.
“I don’t know yet. I will decide after the dictation,” the teacher replied.
“What’s the point of having a dictionary dictation? Dictionary is something that we can check. We don’t need to memorize that. We should learn vocabularies by using them, but not by memorizing the dictionary,” Peter said.
“I don’t care what you feel! You need to memorize. That’s how I learn. The dictation will be at 8 am next Wednesday,” the teacher said.
“8 am! It is too early. Classes start at 9am. We have to come here early for the dictation?” Peter said.
“Yes!” the teacher exclaimed.

Team Leader

Meeting good people is essential for surviving in any places, especially when I am in a strange city.
Thanks God. My colleagues are nice and cooperative, and I am particularly impressed by my team leader SJ. We do have clashes sometimes, but he really deserves my respect.
SJ, about one year younger than me, is really patient. He still smiles sometimes when I am rude to him, probably because I have lost temper out of some ridiculous arrangements.
And whenever the big brothers are making things chaos, and causing trouble to me, he always comes to my rescue. Yes, you can say it is part of his job to deal with the big brothers, but my life will be like hell without his help.
I, growing up in other city which shares different systems and values, is still getting used to living here, and on many occasions, I cannot stand the big brothers and disagree with some of SJ's ideas. But I think he has tried to understand how I think.
Sometimes, my thinking clashes with the others, which lead to big troubles for him. On one occasion, he had to write a retrospective essay because of the “mistakes”I have made (something that the big brothers believed is a serious mistakes, but I find nothing wrong) . But still, he did not blame me or scold me, and tried to console me when I was very upset by that trouble.
Last but not least, he volunteered to help when I needed to move apartment last month.

Thanks.

搬家 Moving Apartment

因為業主要提早收樓，所以我要搬家。業主說，他現時居住的房子也是租的，他的房東不續約，所以他就要收回我的房子了。我不太相信他的話，但因為他的房子實在是有點遠，而且租金不便宜，所以我便答應他的要求。
剛過去的星期六搬家了。新居400呎左右，較之前的小180呎左右，而且是studio flat，即開放式無間隔居所。但租金較上一間房子便宜400元，而且比較近上班地點。由我家打的上班，一般不超過16元，比以前便宜了10元。

I have to move apartment because my landlord wants to have his flat back earlier than scheduled. The landlord said he is living in a rented flat, and the owner of that flat has decided not to renew the rental contract, and therefore, he needs to have my flat back. I do not trust him. But I still accept his demand because 1) his flat is quite far away from my office, and 2) the rent is not cheap.
I had moved to the new apartment on Saturday. The new flat is about 400 sq feet, about 180 sq feet smaller than the last flat. The new flat is a studio flat. The rent is 400 yuan cheaper than the last one, and quite close to the office. It takes only about 16 yuan to get to the office by taxi, which is 10 yuan cheaper.

計劃Planning

人生真的要計劃嗎？我們會計劃投資、結婚、生孩子、買房子、旅行及讀書等等。
問這個問題，是因為在這農曆新年，發生了一件不幸的事。
初一，收到一通電話，說舊同事在數星期前入院，被診斷患上情況嚴重的癌症，曾經昏迷。
同事育有一孩子。
林林總總的計劃，說起來可能很吸引，但一個病，已經將你辛勞的成果化為烏有。
但不計劃又不行，究竟如何找出平衡點呢？

食道炎及腸胃不適，讓我一度擔心自己是不是身患危疾。在情況稍為好轉時，又聽到同事患病這消息，剛巧這時我的腳又好像有一點腫，我的驚慌又來了。

Do we really need to plan for our life? We will plan to do some investment, get married, have a baby, buy a house, go travelling and studying.
I ask this question because something unfortunate has happened during the Lunar New Year.
I received a phone call on the first day of the Lunar New Year. I was told that a former colleague was admitted to hospital a few weeks ago, and the colleague was diagnosed with advanced cancer.
My colleague has a son.
The various plans we have sound attractive. But the achievements of our hard working efforts would have gone up in smoke by a sudden illness.
But it seems that life will not work without planning. How to make a balance?

My esophagus and stomach illness is having a bad impact on me, psychologically. I was once worried that whether I had serious disease. And now I have heard this unfortunate news of my old colleague when my situation is getting better. My paranoid seems have come back, and one of my legs is swollen.