Blogger in beta

Can't help my curiosity, I have transfered my blog to blogger beta version. There are a lot of cool features such as the new archive system, Label tag and links to older posts etc. However, the beta version always has some bugs and the programmers seem always too busy to fix the bug you reported. I have encountered problems photo posting, logging in and clicking on the "Older Posts" link at the bottom on the page freezes the browser on internet explorer. It seems all the problems can be solved by using firefox as a browser. Anyhow, once you move in to the new beta version there is no way back, so to transfer or wait for the decision is at your discretion. For those who have trouble reading my blog try using Firefox as your browser.

Chinese Orchestra

Institut Pasteur France, NHRI and CDC Taiwan, held a symposium on re-emerging virus infections on Sept. 1. On that night, we had a welcome dinner held in the courtyard of the college of medicine at NCKU. The scene: floating candles on the grass, rose petals scattered, ambient lighting with a Chinese orchestra performing in the courtyard under the trees.

Here is one of the songs performed that night

The Beautiful Fernleaf Hedge Bamboo/ Yang Chun-lin
The Dai tribe, distributed over the Yunnan area, is one of the most sentimental tribes among the various minority groups in China, and its music is also the most gentle and moving one. The composer uses Yunnan's local color as a basis, describing how the fernleaf hedge bamboo sways like a dancing girl in the wind. The song begins with two instruments, Bawu and Yangqin, whose beautiful melody creates a profound atmosphere, full of imagination. As the song comes to its later part, like dancing and singing couples, the atmosphere becomes more and more passionate with its lively tune and rhythm. Finally, the song ends in a cheerful emotion.


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Responsibility V.S Dignity

Everybody likes to work with someone who has responsibility but what's the definition of responsibility? What kind of behavior should one possess in order to demonstrate his/her accountability? Let say one was assigned to a mission which takes a lot of manpower to get done. However, due to some technical problems one has to finish the job by oneself. So one worked over time trying to take care of the mission in all aspects but it just can't be done to perfection. Now, would you say this poor guy is incompetent and he/she deserves censure because of some flaw in this mission or it's understandable and one should be praised by accomplishing the mission short of resources? When one's responsibility compromises one's dignity what are the measures one should take to restore balance and vice versa?

Now, let's discuss the philosophy: achievement is everything. It makes sense the first time you hear that, after all a good result is the end point of a pursuing, without it, all efforts input in the process were totally wasted. However, without sufficient resource support, all the hard work is futile. You can't just milk cows without feeding them. Most people are not stupid; they know what their responsibility is and what kind of request is too much. The problem is nobody stands out to defend their rights so the vicious cycle starts and the situation deteriorates: bosses label employees who request more resources as incompetent whereas employees work over time trying to keep their job.

Diligence is the impression many westerners possess when speaking of Chinese's attitute at work. To me, it's not something I am proud of but is something I accepted silently. I wish to be busy at work without so-called responsibility infringing on my life but it seems like a fairytale only existing in western countries.

Moving during ghost month

Despite the saying that moving into a new building during ghost month is unpropitious, we managed to move into our new building during this rare double-ghost-month. The panorama above is taken on the 12th floor in the NCKUH where our office used to be. One thing I like about this office is its birds-eye view: you can actually see how buildings sprawl onto the skyline line of Tainan City and then the ocean takes over from there bringing you back to the horizon. It is a shame to leave such a vista behind and move into a new building having only 5 floors above the surface.

The new main building is in a sailboat shape, not as fancy as the hotel in Dubai but it certainly stands out from buildings around by its styling architecture. However, I can't say I like the design in it though. Compare to the old one, we have less spaces for experiments yet we have too many rooms for meetings. Moreover, without enough manpower to take care of the building, everybody is being assigned to multiple duties. It's common to see a research assistant doing his research, taking care of the air conditioning system and power grid at the same time. In addition to it, a garden is demanded by the regulation of city planning when constructing a new building. We have a garden with a small pond and a bridge on top of it. It sounds beautiful and it was until one day a group of stray dogs turned the garden into a play ground. When looking out of the window, it's common to see a show on play: a dog digs a hole for his treasure and then lies on top of it. When making eye contact with that dog, you can feel how grateful he thinks about the garden.

One thing I do like about the building is its strong air conditioning and natural lighting. Despite all the hard work and responsibilities, I think I am getting to like it more day by day.

Sunset in Anpin

I am wondering if there anybody interested in photo shoting of sunrise in Erliao? The best time for that is 2 days after a pouring rain, departing at 3 AM from Tainan city, it takes about 40 mins by car to get there. Sample pic

The Foreigner Thing

I have a few foreign friends who have been so helpful in acquainting me with the cultural differences aka “The Foreigner Thing”. Still, I’m naive in these sorts of things; an iota from a vast quantity isn’t quite accurate for quantifying my knowledge of that.

Scenario 1: Birth certificate, Quebec, Canada
I've never heard that a birth certificate can expire. What does it mean if a birth certificate is expired? Does it mean that one was never born? The government explains that due to security issues, birth certificates issued before Jan.1 1994 are no longer valid; the expiration mechanism is to secure certificates from fabrication.
Well, the explanation makes sense to me.

How about applying for one? There are 2 kinds of applications you can choose from: the express and the regular one. The regular one takes longer for paper work, once it’s done, the certificate will be sent in a non-registered regular mail. The express one takes about 1 week before they can send it in a non-registered mail to you and it costs more than double the price of the regular one. If you are in the country the mail will be sent as an express mail, however, if you are in a foreign country, the mail will be sent as a regular mail which isn’t specified by air or by ship in the application regulations. Why would someone apply for an express one to have his/her certificate sent by regular mail which takes as long as a regular application? Because you don’t know how much longer the regular application takes and you would image that the mail will be sent by air at least even if it’s regular mail. Also, because of the security issue, birth certificates issued before Jan.1 1994 are no longer valid then why are certificates sent in non-registered mail instead of registered, which would be more secure. My friend had an express application made in March and he is still waiting for the mail to arrive.

Scenario 2: Tax issue, Taiwan
When foreigners are going to stop working in Taiwan, they will have to pay a visit to Tax Office before they leave the country. Usually, they will be informed that they can get some money back from the money they have already pre-paid, however almost none of them can actually get their money back. After finishing the application for reimbursement, bureaucracy almost guarantees you that the money is not going with you anywhere. In addition, foreigners’ bank accounts are frozen on the day their ARC expires, leaving you no way to cash the check and unable to use your bankcard outside of Taiwan. So even though it’s your money, you can’t touch it unless you come back to Taiwan.

Scenario 3: The etiquette of email writing
Chapter 1
I got an email from a westerner who wants to borrow a book from me asks for a meeting. I wrote back an email and told him when and where I would like it to be. He responded: “sound good, but I don’t like the location though, is there any cuter place”. I sent an email back in which I gave 2 more possible places to meet. No response this time, so I wrote an email to remind him that the day we were supposed to meet was coming and I still didn’t know where to meet. No response still until the exact moment we were supposed to meet; a text message sent to my mobile told me that he was too busy and would like to cancel the meeting. About two weeks after, I got an email from him again: “still too busy and would still like to borrow the book. Sending someone tomorrow to the place you designated to retrieve the book.” I asked him to come to my office and I would give him the book. No response and certainly nobody showed up the next day.

Chapter 2
I got emails from westerners who told me how good my pictures are and they would like to have a copy to put on their website. I was flattered and glad to share photos so I sent them and asked for the website in return. No responses, no thank you notes, no website addresses, not even a note telling me that someone out there did get the photos. It happens all the time and I start to wonder if the whole thing did happen or was it just my imagination.

Chapter 3
I wrote an email to a possible candidate for language exchange. A few days later, no response from him so I wrote another email to him just to make sure he did get my email instead of being filtered as a spam . This time I got a reply the next day telling me that I am not the guy he is looking for to do the language exchange with because I didn’t wait for him to contact me and wrote another email a few days later which he thought gave me away as impatient.

Scenario 4: Greeting in the street, Universal
Normally, you would not say hello to a stranger in the street, however being a foreigner in an exotic environment, greeting a stranger who has nothing in common with you except for being an outsider is expected. So the dilemma is should I or shouldn’t I express my friendship to a stranger (especially one who has the same skin color as me) in the street, foreigners wonder. Avoiding eye contact is the most common strategy adopted by foreigners yet they can’t help feeling bad for being rude.

Scenario 5: Sarcasm, Canada, UK etc.
I don’t even know how to start! People are proud to say that sarcasm is in their blood, which is something the locals can’t comprehend and the reason to it is the locals have no such expression. I concur with that statement partly. We do have sarcasm but it’s just not something in our blood. We follow the definition of sarcasm, a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain, and practice this expression with deliberation.

Five scenarios don’t quite cover “the foreigner thing”, but I am going to stop here. I’m thankful for all the differences that make life more colorful, and appreciate any effort that help to minimize conflict between cultures. Be open-minded and enjoy being a foreigner.

Lost

Depression hits unexpectedly. Blaming it on the weather is a convenient outlet, however it doesn't ease the choking feeling that is haunting me. I am feeling tired both physically and psychologically.

I heard a story on radio the other day:

A professor in art who suffers from cerebral palsy was invited to give a speech about her life. After the speech, a participant asked her a sharp question in public: How do you see yourself? She wrote down a few lines on the board:

1. I am cute
2. I can draw
3. I have a beautiful dog... etc.

Above all, I see only what I do have and don't see what I don't have.

It sounds like preaching and it's a nice way to hypnotize oneself from disappointment. However, It's not easy to think that way for many of us. Sometimes, depression acts like a spoiled kid who is celebrating Halloween, treat or trick, just won't let go unless he gets what he wants.

I wanna disappear, leaving everything behind and going somewhere nobody knows me. Somewhere nothing is relevant to me so I can see things with a cold eye until I reset the perception of what I do have and what I can't have and appreciate that. I wish I could.