- Sep 14 Thu 2017 00:49
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test
- Jan 04 Wed 2017 18:41
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When We Stop Caring
This is an account of one of the sad stories I eye-witnessed in NYC.
It was midnight when we were on the R train heading back to Queens. We got two seats facing toward the end of the train. I sat down at the window seat to the left. Wayne got the aisle seat. To our right, I knew someone seemingly asleep simply from the way his/her sat. I have never looked directly to that person until next time I noticed him/her he/she was already on the floor. In a weird collapse-like position.
Lying a bit side-way but face almost down to the floor.
I felt odd. But this is NYC. How many odd things have I seen on the trains? A lot. Best reaction? Probably pretending nothing has happened.
While keeping my conversation with Wayne, I couldn’t help wonder what’s going on with the person on the floor. Thoughts in my head, my eyes darted around. It didn’t seem to matter to most of the people but I noticed a lady ~5 yards from us looking at this direction. We had a short eye contact. She was curious about this person’s condition as well but might have decided she couldn’t do anything so she went back to being herself. I think I saw the person’s back going up and down. I think he/she’s still alive. I think…
- Jan 01 Sun 2017 20:44
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Catching the Moment with Cate Blanchett
The whole thing happened so fast but actually probably as long as eternity in terms of catching the moment with Cate Blanchett (the Cate Blanchett!!!). As now sitting in the airport recalling what just happened this morning (Dec 31, 2016) on the 47th street, not too far away from Barrymore Theatre, I still feel like that someone has just woke me up from a crazy dream, a crazily wild one. As soon as we got out of the metro station, we saw the police has already blocked the block. ‘Good thing then, I think this way Cate will have to walk to the theatre.’ I said. But still, which entrance? We got to the theatre at 9 am, sharp. Having to experience endless painful wait in the cruel NYC chill and wind and Cate’s not necessarily going through the state door, we were out of ideas what to do. Nevertheless, our strategy this morning was to circle around the entire block between 47th and 48th Streets and 7th and 8th Avenues. Walking, stopping, and walking again, we’ve totally walked around the block 5 times, 7 more times back and forth on the 47th alone. As the clock ticking, we found a warmer spot across the street and decided to stay there while keeping our eyes on the stage door to the theatre. It was around 11 am when things started to get intense. More fans turned up in front of the stage door, 1, 2, 3. 3 or 5 others, total, maybe? I can’t recall. Suspecting that Cate’s assistant arranged her to get in through other door yesterday, we were very worried that due to the circumstances (Cate’s not being well the night before and now fans at the door), Cate might choose other entrance again today. It’s getting so close that she can show up at any moment or might have been inside the theatre already without us knowing (which would just add weight to our long-existing misery). All the sudden we spotted Tod in front of the theatre opening the stage door and quickly disappearing behind it. ‘Oh… yesterday… he told me Cate’s already here when he arrived.’ I said, still fixing my eyes across the street. ‘Oops, not good news, is it?’
- Mar 12 Sat 2016 11:47
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額頭
Icing my head…
Clumsy enough to bump my head against something twice in a week: once a desk and now a wall. Every time this happens to my forehead, the memory of my kindergarten stories comes to me. I wasn’t one that sits quietly all the time but running a lot in the playground during breaks, I guess. I was helping push friends’ swinging cartridge (big round metal one). Then, whoosh, too high, bang, the cartridge hit my forehead. Left or right, I forgot. Teacher took me to a clinic nearby. Doc prescribed some soothing gel, brown-ish color. Trying to calm a crying kid, teacher told me I’ve got some ‘chocolate’. Not long after, maybe a couple weeks later, whoosh, bang, the other side of my forehead got hit again in the same manner. Teacher took me to the clinic again. This time doc gave me a milky-looking gel. Teacher called it ‘milk caramel,’ another kids’ favorite. Fun childhood memory never goes away. Only this time, twice on the same side of my forehead…
Well, I guess this was how my forehead was shaped.
冰敷額頭中…
白痴地在一個星期裡撞了兩次頭：一次撞上桌子，這次撞在牆上。每每撞到頭就喚起了兒時的記憶……
- Oct 16 Fri 2015 11:32
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First Run‧跑出第一步
October (morning) in Texas is indeed runnable. A casual run ended up being 3.5 miles, not long for some of you runners, but was indeed my first run around the neighborhood (maybe a good bonus not being able to drive). Despite liking sports a lot, running has never been my strong suit (has long been categorized in the ‘boring’ section) so I was a little bit surprised by the outcome. Exploring the neighborhood, surprised to discover those corners that I would have never gotten a chance to explore if not for running. Dug out this pair of snickers for tomorrow and beyond. Probably will ditch MAC (gym) for a couple months before summer comes again. 發現，原來德州的十月早晨已經挺適合跑步了。 因為這一個多星期以來都沒法開車，已經在家裡被悶到壞了的我今天早上突發奇想，換上衣服、帶上iPod、套上鞋子，出門了。回家看地圖，隨便一跑，也跑了五公里多，著實有驚訝了一下。雖然很喜歡運動，跑步從來不是我喜歡的項目之一，總是被歸在「無聊」的那一類。多虧沒得開車，有機會發現家附近的好多平常根本沒機會看到的角落。挖出這雙新鞋，明早就靠它了，看來在夏天來之前，要拋棄MAC﹝學校健身房，不，是健身館才對﹞一陣子了！哈！
- Aug 02 Sun 2015 10:50
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LEGO 21302 The Big Bang Theory 生活大爆炸
樂高與日本CUUSOO公司的CUUSOO系列在2014年正式改名為IDEAS。此系列鼓勵業餘創作者的作品並讓全球樂高迷自由投票，一旦支持者達到一萬，作品將成為樂高公司在該年IDEAS盒組的候選人，樂高會依據市場、可玩性、穩固性及設計概念決定最終脫穎而出的作品。基於樂高對其商品有一定的要求規格，最終推出上市的商品多少會加入樂高設計師與原創者討論後的修改與再設計。2015後半年的IDEAS盒組是我期待已久的作品，以電視劇「The Big Bang Theory」﹝中文譯作：生活大爆炸﹞為藍圖，此作品的作者是少數能有第二件上市的 Alatariel ，她的第一件上市作品是一推出即在一天內售光的21110 Research Institute﹝原作品名：女科學家﹞，當初忘了發售日而錯過的我為了買到自己的收藏可是費上了不少功夫。 所以，這一次我可是小心翼翼地在Google行事曆上標記7月31日這一天的午夜，因為8月1日是此套盒組樂高官網的正式發售日。怎料，就在這個星期四﹝7月30日﹞我意料之外在玩具反斗城看到它的身影，當下真是又驚又喜，連忙伸手拿下架上兩盒，用了早以準備好的折價券﹝果真事事有備則無患！﹞，搭配反斗城的信用卡，七五折再九折，再加上我買到的八折gift card，稅前原價60美元的盒組被我只用31.38元買到！這麼一算可是足足低於五折﹝德州的稅可是高達8%﹞呀！﹝喜﹞ 既然老天都幫我提早入手，我可不能怠慢，當然要好好地即時「品嚐品嚐」囉！﹝流口水﹞
- Jul 04 Sat 2015 03:08
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一圓射擊夢。Shooting Range Excursion
向來自栩自己的射擊，拿「人生有45發子彈」來誇口。高中軍訓課出去打靶時除了每個學生分派到的20發子彈外，因為被選為班上射擊助教的緣故，最後還另外被賞了20發子彈，射擊成果是教官們作為挑選出去參加高雄市射擊比賽人選的依據。我被選上了，還因此而買了拋棄式隱形眼鏡。每位選手有5發子彈，靶是一個200公尺外的一個小到不能再小的軍用人型板，打中了靶會倒下來，所以有沒有中的，一目了然，5發子彈內我的靶倒了4次。這是今日為止，一共45發的自動步槍子彈。 大學第一次羅浮營的漆彈戰，兩隊選場地的方式是用漆彈槍打中學長們放在遠處的寶特瓶，我毛遂自薦地代表我隊和另一方的學長一發定高下，呼！所幸勝戰歸來。 雖然喜歡射擊，但對FPS的電腦射擊遊戲並不是那麼感興趣，或許是沒有拿槍的真實感吧。當學生的時候，聽見已在工作的朋友閒暇時騎馬娛樂，就想著等自己開始工作後，第一個想加入的會是射擊俱樂部。黑堡附近不是沒有射擊場，只是開車單趟就得花上近一個小時，博士生薪水雖不賴，但還不至於到可以拿來炮轟的地步。前些日子因為Groupon有特別折扣，無意間發現SHOOT SMART Shooting Range，於是挑了媽媽回台前一天和她來「打打槍」。 十幾年沒碰過真槍了，明白這是不容開玩笑的遊戲，加上對射擊場環境完全陌生，所以在拉開門走進去前多少有點緊張。謹慎地告知射擊場人員我從沒握過短槍、上次射擊也是十幾年前的事了，他想了想遞給我一把點22的自動短槍，然後教我怎麼換裝子彈。不難，大家能做，我想我也可以吧！ 雖然有Groupon，但出門前發現原本預計到射擊場的時間正好有Happy Hour特惠，所以選擇把Groupon留到下次再用。Happy Hour來的人可真多，所有射擊道已佔滿人，所幸等不到五分鐘，Lane 1就空出來了，耶！
- Mar 25 Wed 2015 20:44
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LEGO 42021 Snowmobile 下篇 雪地摩托車
發現自己有個寫部落格的壞習慣，那就是常常有始無終。時不時「樂樂長」、鉅細靡遺地起頭，寫得樂、寫得長，可是卻沒有時間好好結尾，旅遊文是這樣，樂高文也出現這個兆頭。好吧！趁著新鮮、剛組好，快點把文章完成。 在 上篇 中提到過TARGET的玩具出清特價，我撿五折的雪地摩托車撿得極樂。怕它被買光降不到三折，超想收集科技零件的我這個星期路過TARGET的時候又再撿了幾盒。奇怪的是，出清架上那讓我覬覦很久的成堆BIONICLE Master of Water﹝水王﹞竟已一掃而光，或許是趁我不注意的時候，這家TARGET 的水王已經偷偷降到五折了吧！不管了，打開42021第二盒，咦？搞笑的是，怎麼我一個星期前後不同的兩盒擺出來照相的「陣法」居然一模一樣？ 今天要組裝盒子正面的Snowmobile，也就是雪地摩托車，起頭就從這個稀有﹝新﹞的「I」或「工」字型零件開始。嗯…霸氣。
- Mar 15 Sun 2015 16:24
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LEGO 42021 Snowmobile 上篇 Snow Bike 雪地自行車
美國著名連鎖超市TARGET每過幾個星期會在星期四出清玩具商品，折數從七折開始，每隔幾星期降兩成；論壇上，幾個星期前就已經聽說好些人買進成堆又成堆五折的 超級英雄76013 Batman: The Joker Steam Roller ，但我還沒見過。上星期四，某人先打電話去問了Mall附近的TARGET，看來終於輪到我的TARGET打五折了！一到TARGET，先在車子裡堆滿小丑盒組，然後掃瞄了一下本來很期待才剛出卻已打開始打折的BIONICLE生化系列Master of Water水王，結果那盒還只維持在七折。看著架上成排TECHNIC科技系列的42021 Snowmobile，心癢癢地卻很乖地只拿了一盒。 LEGO TECHNIC 42021 Snowmobile，雪地摩托車，零件有186片。盒底是第二種模式─Snow Bike，雪地自行車？嗯…真有人會在雪地騎自行車嗎？有的！不過，它在德州應該派不上用場，難怪在賣場人氣低低，也難怪TARGET要出清，希望下星期它可以打到只剩三折。 來，邀你看一下多麼可人的價錢… 十元美金唷！平均每一塊科技零件才五毛錢左右，不買就太對不起自己了啦！
- Feb 21 Sat 2015 21:16
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LEGO 41522 SCORPI 小蠍仔
- Nov 26 Wed 2014 20:46
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LEGO 42022 Hot Rod 上篇 Sports Car 跑車
樂高有一系列很酷，雖然不是典型的四方積木，但是極具線條的骨感造型和高度的可動性總是讓我內在的工程細胞躍躍欲試。沒錯！正是它，TECHNIC─科技系列。收藏了不少套，但由於這一年來一直很忙，直到昨天我才有機會拆開生平的第一盒TECHNIC，碰巧也是今年的新款42022 Hot Rod。 這一套有兩個組合模式，分別是：Rod Hot﹝骨董車﹞和Sports Car﹝跑車﹞。能用類似的積木組出兩種不同味道的車型正合我意，再說天藍色的運用在TECHNIC系列可說相當少見，還有就是…我只用半價就買到它。﹝竊喜﹞ 說明書共兩本，分別是兩種組裝模式，零件則有兩大包和兩小包，貼紙上是駭人的火燄骷髏頭。 因為最終想以骨董車型為櫃上擺飾，所以我先拿跑車下手。廢話不多說，開動囉！ 這些在我看來很奇形怪狀的零件其實好像在TECHNIC系列是稀鬆平常的。
- Apr 30 Wed 2014 22:47
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乘風飛去！
自從Katie跟前任男友分手，我時不時會撿到一些好處，就連當初她訂的飛機駕駛課，都歸我去。Liberty University航太系開的駕駛課，機場位於兩個小時外的Lynchburg，一月份我們千里迢迢來到這，卻因為風太大敗興而歸。今天再次回到此，風和日麗，在藍天白雲的陪伴下，相信會是很有趣的體驗。 今天陪伴我們的飛行員是高大的Greg，他帶我們走過停「機」場，來到這架機齡只有一個月的嶄新飛機。 「新飛機聞起來特別嗎？」Katie邊走邊問。 「我猜應該就像新車吧！」Greg說。 在開飛機之前，Greg自然是要再做一次全面的機身檢查。就在他裡裡外外摸來摸去時，我當然偷空隨便拍了拍，今天雖然帶了大相機，不過還是只用Fujifilm XF1紀錄而已。
