Twitter UpdatesSo I dashed off to a client meeting at 8:30AM last week. After an hour and a half meeting, my empty stomach was calling for breakfast. I walked into a sandwich restaurant called “Pod” and ordered a scramble eggs a sausage. After the casher lady packed my order in a bag and handed to me, I realized I must have left my wallet in the office. I embarrassingly apologised as the food is already cooked and I can’t pay for it. However the cashier lady smiled and said “Don’t worry, just come back and pay tomorrow morning”. I refused the offer at the beginning because I worried it might get her into trouble. But she insisted. I thanked her and appreciated her trust on me.
That breakfast was extra tasty.
The next morning although I don’t have client meeting there, but I left home early and went there again for breakfast. The lady was still there. I bought another set of meal and asked for the total amount that I have to pay. But she just charged me one set of meal and told me not to worry about the previous one. I tried to refuse the offer but she insisted again. At the end, I still pay for one set of meal but paid double of the money as tips.
I believe if I didn’t go back the next day it wouldn’t be a huge lost to the restaurant. But the trust and friendliness that cashier lady left me are something that likely to overweight that potential lost. At least, it worth me posting it here as a free advert for them.
“We are going to install a piece of software in every single PC in China to ‘protect’ our citizens from harmful information” (related news). Another ridiculous move from the Chinese government. Now, I used the word “Chinese government” might not be appropriate as I believe there are sensible individuals working for the government, still. But one thing I don’t understand is that why those people aren’t powerful enough to stop such a stupid action that put them no shame. Treating citizens like fools will only angers more people, especially when it’s done so explicitly.
However I do like to look the positive sides of the story. First of all, the company (or government bodies) which produce the software won’t spend resources to produce a Mac version, at least not in the near future. It’s a golden opportunity for Apple to sell computers without re-installed such software. Secondly, it might benefit the computer hardware market. I remember I built my first PC from scratch with my friend when I was 15, then installed a not so legal Windows (let’s face it, I did). If a PC that I bought is came with software that going to monitor what I do, I might as well just buy the pieces and build it myself. Even though I can’t, it’s not that expensive to pay someone to do the job. If I could do it when I was fifteen about 10 years ago, so do many other young kids in China now, or even younger. Lastly, if the government individuals are dare to make such a move, I guess it won’t be long before they are forced to quiet down such enforcement by the pressure from the media and “protected citizens”.
If a blog’s update is slowing down or somehow stopping, there are three reasons for it – 1) the person is too busy getting on with life, 2) s/he doesn’t like blogging anymore or 3) s/he became too famous that need to be care with what’s said. I have been trying to be the third reason but haven’t been successful so far. And don’t take me wrong, I’m just the same as other human being, have the desire to express myself. So the second one can be eliminated.
Yes, I’m trying to get on with my life. And the keyword of this busyness is – CFA.
Since the moment I opened the box of CFA Level 1 textbooks, the postcards hinted me life is going to be slightly different. It indeed has been, very different. Like today, a nice beautiful Saturday that most people would get their sunglasses and shorts outside the wardrobe and spend the day outside. I instead calmly spent the whole day with my reading notes and a lovely calculator. Time can never be enough for revision. But I’m not yet close to revision, and that gets me worried. But after all, that’s I chose to do. So I’m going to enjoy the nice painful process. No harm no gain.
Gradually I learned that other than effective time management, work-and-life balance is another course for life. I should learn more “subtraction” within todo list and keep things simple but focused.
From Twitter Pic
I walked past London Liverpool Street after work this evening and saw about thousand of people, mostly teenagers, crowded together singing and shouting. It was definitely not a normal Friday night commute busyness. As first I thought something bad happened, but then from the happy faces of the teens and calm-yet-in-guard policemen there, I released a bit. I asked one of the guy there what’s going on, he told me something like “flash mob” or whatever similar. Then I asked another one from a sandwich shop, he told me it was “some sort of facebook party”. Then it made more sense to me, but I still didn’t know what’s going. But I twittered it from my phone.
I’m home now. The fact that nothing mentioned in BBC homepage about what happened already confirmed that it’s not major enough to go on news. But then there is also nothing from Google News when I search for “liverpool street” as keyword. That’s weird. Lastly I went on Twitter Search and gradually getting the full picture, including the photo posted above, and another one.
It’s nothing new to break news from Twitter (Earthquake, Plane Crash in NYC). But I’m still amazed by the power of public as media.
By the way, I really wish I had grabbed my lunch on that day at that time .