今天懒死了。一天呆在家里，哪都没去。天都黑了，看看冰箱里好像弹尽粮绝，决定去采购。

－ Saw a Pizza Hut on my way to the grocery store, so I went in. I've been missing chicken wings lately -- you know, the spicy kind, with the white dip, with celeries on the side. I didn't eat chicken wings that much when I was in the U.S., but the dish brings back fond memories. When I was in school in Reno, my roommate and I used to eat pizzas (with the chicken wings, soda or beer, and much better than the Pizza Hut pizza) on Fridays and watch movies. I also remember vacationing in Wisconsin's Door County one time, only to find the restaurants there close super early in the evening. We ended up eating broiled fish at a bar; but because we were so hungry from looking for places to eat everywhere, we ordered salads and chicken wings first. Those were some of the best tasting chicken wings -- because I was soooo hungry!

This Pizza Hut in Beijing didn't have the kind of chicken wings I talked about on the menu. Maybe they localized the food to appeal to the Chinese taste. To my surprise, it was also a nice sit-down restaurant that's not cheap as in the U.S. Then I remembered a friend of mine once told me that in El Salvador, people dress up to go to Pizza Hut. Maybe one day, people in developing countries will pay only what it's worth for food in chains like McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut.

-- 从Pizza Hut 撤退，进了超市。看什么都好吃，买了很久没吃过的麻花、年糕，希望今年不要把自己吃爆了。 
选好的水果都没买成－－到了交款处，人家问我称了没。不知道手续这么麻烦，就放弃了苹果和金橘，还好还有一盒包好了的小芒果。

－早上起来只吃了一顿饭，却盘子碗什么的用了一大堆。洗完了碗，又去收拾卫生间，一想国内人工这么便宜，真不应该自己干。

－最近好像一直有买不完的东西，因为搬了新家。春节期间姐姐带我去了IKEA,疯狂购物，回来后意识到自己碗盘子都买了、刀叉也买了一套，
连几乎从来不会用的wine glass 都买了，却没有买象筷子这样很基本的东西

－YY告诉我说，以后博客不要用中文写了，太容易懂了，没劲。

我又开始想出去玩了， 所以我知道自己生活已经进入正轨。 每当，生活很忙、很乱、处于过渡阶段的时候， 就什么都不想，只是拼命去做需要完成的事。但一旦安定下来了，有心思了，就会想下一站去哪。有的时候是旅游，有的时候是下一个目标。

春节休息得很好，把家也又收拾了收拾，做做卫生，买了一些要盘盘碗碗之类的。这两天，就心里痒痒的，想出去玩了。估计半年内，是没有时间了，但九月份，新加坡一个很好的朋友结婚，于是又想着去参加，朋友也说能去的话还可以玩玩老挝、柬埔寨之类的有很好的天然风光的国家。

最近也读了两本关于走美国东部的Appalachian Trail 的书，颇有感触。感觉爬山，走trail,接近自然，是我向往的生活，是能让我快乐、给我充电的的活动。其实在长达三千多公里的trail上背着三、四十斤的背包，吃着简单重复的晚餐，睡帐篷，一周洗一次澡、没有朋友聊天说话，每天重复地一步一步往前走，是很单调、辛苦而孤独的生活。但想到这样可以每天呼吸新鲜的空气，看美丽的高山、树林，清理自己的思绪，过简单的生活，就很向往。

想到一位朋友在一个月后就要踏上这样的征途，经历这样的艰辛，享受这样的简单，就不由的祝福他，希望他如愿以偿，成为每年踏上AT的几千人中十分之一的幸运者，能完成这六个月的长征，也希望他得到他此行想要得到的东西。

最近几天在看韩剧，其实没什么情节，写得也不怎么好，只是一个搞笑的轻喜剧吧，挺无聊的，但不知为什么，今天打开电视，没有播放这个电视剧，
却感觉少了点什么，好奇怪。

记得新年的时候，和几个朋友去看话剧《开心麻花》，因为很久没有生活在中国，所以很多针对当前的流行文化编出的搞笑片段都看不懂。最严重的就是，话剧中有一段居然讲起了韩语，而且我好像是唯一一个听不懂的人。

回来后，好友问话剧怎么样， 我开玩笑说，所有的references之中，我好像只听懂了 E.T.这个词。  这么说来，我现在看韩剧，也算 对中国
文化的学习喽，不算我无聊。：）

I enjoy classical music only when I go to concerts -- because there the sound is perfect, the architecture matches the music and you feel like you are connecting with the people creating the beautiful music and sharing the moment with an audience that's as enthusiastic about music as yourself. Listening to classical music anywhere else, I feel, doesn't do such music justice.

That's why the first time I heard Swan Lake at one of Beijing's subway stations, I was shocked and felt weird. "Classical music in such a crude structure with so much noise and so many people milling around?" I couldn't help saying that out loud to myself. Nobody was paying any attention to the music. Everyone was busy trying to get to their destinations. And the music was so loud that I could hardly hear myself talk.

"This is not the right way to listen to classical," I thought.

But I wasn't shocked or uncomfortable when I heard classical music at the station again -- that was when I had started working and had to spend at least two hours on the subway commuting every day. I remember feeling tired, and cold each time the train's doors opened, allowing frigid air to get in. But at this particular station -- the Lishuiqiao Station -- beautiful piano music (such as Bach's Menuet) or symphony music would often come in when the doors opened, compensating for the annoying, cold air. It also brought a nice relaxing moment to the crowded, dull and tiring ride. The music could always momentarily take me to a different world -- blue skies, mountains, forests, a lake, or even a beautiful concert hall.

Finally one weekend, I got off to ask why this station was one of the very few playing classical music. A staff member told me the head of the station had lived in Europe before. He ordered the music after stations on Line 5 (the newest line) got new sound equipment.

Since I moved closer to work, I only spend 10 to 15 minutes on the subway getting to and from work. The commute has become much more tolerable, but the classical music is gone because I don't go by the Lishuiqiao Subway Station anymore. Often I have my iPod on so I can listen to my favorite piano music or songs. But once in a while, I would think of the Lishuiqiao Station and its music, which made me smile.

I hope the music is bringing something good to other commuters as well.

***************************
Most embarrassing subway moment. I was at the Llama Temple Subway Station, waiting for a friend to pick me up. A couple of Caucasian backpackers walked by, looked into the station gate and spoke German with each other. They looked lost, and finally before they left the area, the woman turned around and asked me in English, "Excuse me, do you speak English?"

"Yes," I replied enthusiastically.

"Can you tell me where Llama Temple is?" she asked.

Ha, it's my turn to be helpful and give directions, I thought, after two months of getting lost endlessly and asking for directions to even commonly known locations in Beijing.

"This is it," I said, extremely pleased with myself.

She looked inside the gate hesitantly, but decided to believe me anyway and led her partner into the station. Then it suddenly hit me -- there's the TEMPLE Llama Temple and this is the Llama Temple Subway Station. "You are looking for the subway station, right?" I asked, quickly stopping them.

"No, the temple." she said, using her forefingers to draw a square in the air.

"Oh, sorry. This is the subway station," I said, embarrassed, and turned to the security guard standing next to me.

"Do you know where Llama Temple is?" I said in Chinese.

Without any hesitation, he pointed toward one of the roads nearby and said, in English, "Llama Temple."