sunset

lost and found, almost

When I was gauging down a big pizza, I felt the guilty pleasure of losing control. But that lasted only seconds. I deserved it. I told myself.

The whole day yesterday, I was busy reinstalling softwares and besides, refinding my files on my harddrives, after the new operating system was installed. However, on the drive, I noticed only one of the two partitions was there while the other seemed gone. It must have occured during the installation of operating system.

The files were still there, as I ensured myself after trying goback sofeware, which convinced me the positive info. However, still the computer couldn't load the partitions both. Between windows and dos, on and restart, so I downloaded and opened software diskgenius, which turned out it didn't work on mobile hard drives. I had to turn to another yiwoxin for help, twice, till the correct partitions appeared.

It's been long hours, and I needed a reward to myself.

story of chips

For the last couple days, I 've crazed by my IBM laptop. Changeable and hard to predict it has become. Sometimes, I found it's so hard to turn it on, waiting for the startup, and there were so often moments error stopped all operations for no reasons seemingly.

My first reaction was God, I must be attacked by outbreaks of viruses. For my computer had not large hard drives for huge antivirus softwares, and if I did, as I did now, the machine worked so so slow. I installed from disc, norton, avp and others from the net, but all showed I had no threats. Good news.

So it must be the techinical problems, as indicated on the error pages, varied from time to time. Since I could not get on the net, I had to go to a night public net cafe at 1 am, to seek some repair stores information. Of course I did find some help but the next hours till 7 am I watched some movies, comforting one night craziess doesn't kill.

I noticed the streets out of the cafe became brighter and brighter as my stomach felt emptier and emptier. In the end I kinda crawled out and had a big breadfast. One hour's sleep before I packed my machine and poped on the bus to electronics market.

It was on the third floor of the market. The staff was very patient and helpful. He checked with ghost softward and concluded that one of the two memories chip must be corrupted. He pulled one out and installed the operating system again. And he also helped contacting some stores for new chips( of course he would make some profits). He called twice and the second store was closer to the market. He turned off his ibm x right on the table and left to fetch it.

I must be so very trustworthy to him, as he dared to leave his whole store and computers to me, with no one at guard either. Minutes later he returned but complained the store gave wrong info on the phone.

He was not to blame but my old machine about 10 year old. He regretedly asked to be cool with the possible result that xp could be running slowlier.

It wasn't fun to travel at noon time aross the city from the market in the west part of the city back to where I live. But I felt great. My laptop was reborn with new life. But, as soon as I powered on, the error page showed again. And again and again, after I tried to switch it on, off and on, off, among which, some worked but not long. Despressed I had a nap; and I was planning to have a new computer. So my afternoon was spent in two computer stores closeby.

I don't know from where I had such a mad idea. When I came back home,I took away the one thought to be good, but put back the diagonised chip. It seems all righ now, after two hours.

God bless me!

shopping is so exciting

Shopping is so addictive, especially on the net. When you are still awake at 1 am, when the city you live have so limited resources, and when it's hot out in the streets, or when the city has the largest shopping web in the country. Naturally you will feel so proud or so obliged to shop with it.

Open anytime the web: www.taobao.com, and you will be thrilled you have anything you need now or in the future. With its secure payment system, alipay, it has won over all the shopper or stores from chinese version of ebay. ( I had one bad shopping experience on ebay.cn, and found the buyers are very often not protected.) Alipay supports all bank cards, and works as the middleman. You decide to buy and deposit the money on your account, and if you are satisfied with the quality of the purchase, you inform it to transfer the money.

And taobao is a smal universe, where you can meet all sorts of people, lazy, smart, or too smart. And take my recent shopping experience for example.

I'd decided to buy a new camera, a compact one, all manual operations, wide lense. I've focused on Panasonic Lx2 and Canon s80. Although both have big shortcomings, like the noise at even low ISO with Lx2, and S80 doesn't have 16:9 widescreen mode.

After searching and comparing , I locked a store with good record. A Japan based store with very competive price, too. I pressed the button, and waited for a long week, each day expecting the surprise and then comvincing it takes time from Japan.A week passed and there was no response from the store. I lost patience and contacted his email and left message there at his store. But all went with no replies. Two days later, I sent another message, threating if he/she doesn't give any response, I will cancel the deal and give a 'bad' evaluation. Maybe it works, the threat of a bad record. Came soon the reply and an explanation about his busy work. He had no time for the deal and promised to refund the money to my account.

Same night, I placed on another store, but instead, for a S80. around 23:00 pm. Next morning, I got a call from the saleswoman, mentioning someone had remitted the money through real bank. She had no camera for me and apologized for it. I got the refund again, 24 hours later, which is the minimum time for a deal. I guessed for each deal through alipay the store has to pay commission. So stores welcome real cash remits better ( but no gurantee for the buyer though).

I searched again, firm now with S80, believing the photo quality cleaner and better. The deal this time worked perfectly. After a small discount, I accepted the deal and condition of express delivery.

Two days later I got my new camera here in Hangzhou from Wuhan, central China.

smoke gets in the eye

He sits there and after hesitating for a second, takes out one cigarette and lights it up.

You fool, who will care? He says to himself. In the courtyard of Linyin temple, where so many believers or tourists rush burning joss sticks as offering to Buddha. So who cares about my little cigarette smoke.

His tour group of Americans are all on their own to explore this beautiful ancient temple, which was first constructed by a visiting Indian monk one thousand six hundred years back. Mesmerized by the tranquil surrounding around the valley the monk believed it was a perfect place for Buddhist meditation, thus the temple got its name 'linyin' meaning 'soul's retreat'. In its grand halls are some China's best preserved, oldest and most magnificent statues of Buddhas. And now it's already a must-see attraction in Hangzhou.

Motionless mostly, he occasionally takes a puff. There are great pains with my throat. Too much smoke, too spicy the hotpot dinner with my friends, and too crazy screaming at that Karaoke room last weekend. Usually he's not this type of person. But his friends guessed and one girl asks cautiously.

' We heard your news. And is it true about your breakup?'
All of sudden, the air in the room was so quiet and tense. All stopped singing and looked at him.
Braving their gazes, he admitted.' It was one month ago.'

'But why?'
A good question. Their relations are already three years, smooth and stable in the eyes of them, including themselves. But a recent purchase of an apartment seemed to spark all their fights. Both tried and still there seemed no possibility of a truce. So that night all came to end, finally.

'We broke up and I went to a hotel nearest one. I threw myself in, half incautious.... ..I even forget I had a discount card for their room rate.'

His friends exchanged a quick eye contact, and soon suggested toasting and welcoming back to 'available' status.

That night, a boozy night,I pretended so well. He now smiles when his phone rings.After the call, he switchs to camera mode in this Cam-phone and begins browsing pics of his new friend, a young and fresh girl. An easier one, he hopes.