Aargggh

WTF? blogger, xanga, and MSN spaces all don't allow users to view the raw RSS feed generated by their respective blogs, what the hell is up w/ that? I need to look at some raw RSS feeds for my project and this is stupid and frustrating. I can't even tell whether blogger is using atom, RSS 2.0, or what. There must be a way to grab the raw xml, I'm just not seeing it right now. AARRGGHHH!

At least they're not complete bozos

After the big re-org and watching the company meeting webcast, I guess my first impression is that I'm glad our top management isn't quite as out of touch as they sound to the outside world, though that's not saying much. I thought Ballmer came across horribly in last week's Business week interview, completely in denial, dodging tough questions without giving any substantial answers, and simply being a rah-rah cheerleader. And internally both Gates and Ballmer have came across as completely being out of touch, not truly seeing Google (and Apple and Yahoo) as worthy competitors, and ignoring valid employee complaints about overladen process, bureaucracy, lack of innovation, etc.

At least they are now seeing Google as a worthy competitor, because they absolutely are. I'm glad they finally acknowledged Google's "web as a platform" strategy (not that it's hard, everyone and their grandmothers can probably see it by now), w/ their maps API, gmail, storage, personalized search & content, etc. I have my doubts as to whether this MSN and Windows marriage is going to counter that strategy effectively, given their drastically different cultures, but at least they are finally addressing this threat. Furthermore, they keep speaking of this amazing "innovation pipeline", but I'll believe it when I start to see real products that make me go, "man that's (bleep)ing cool (bleep)."

I still think Google has the edge though, they are what msft used to be 15-20 years ago: young, smart, arrogant, and hard-working as all hell. It's no wonder the msft offer acceptance rate at Stanford is ~50%, hell I'm surprised it's even that high. I do think it's an interesting case study whether msft can avoid the fate of IBM, HP, Merck, and other successful tech companies who became victims of their own success as they grew big and old. But I'm not sure I personally want to be part of this experiment. There are still execs whom I respect tremendously here, particularly Chris Jones in Windows, Steve Sinofsky in Office, and J Allard in Xbox, but whether/when this 2nd generation leadership will really get to call the shots at msft still remains to be seen. btw, Steve's got an excellent post on becoming a general manager that I just have to point out.

So in summary, it's "I'm glad they (Bill and Steve) are not complete morons." But they'll have to show me a lot more to convince me they are worthy of the god-status bestowed upon them around here.

Turning, turning, turning through the years

Accidentally found two ticket stubs to Les Mis in one of my coat pockets today, as I was cleaning out and getting ready to move. It was dated May 25, 2002. Memory has a way of sneaking up on you when least expected. 2002, that was an entire lifetime ago. Nothing remains from that life now.

當我看到這兩張票根時, 我心頭好像被一把大鐵錘重重的敲了一下, 痛得幾乎無法喘過氣來。

今夜孤立橋頭
望殘月稀朦
記憶懷中
佳人倩影依舊
恍惚,恍惚,
心碎無奈回首
往昔纏綿隨風流,
月下小路仍有, 故人不再.

「佳人倩影依舊...故人不再」。 寫得真好! 把我現在的心情形容得再也不能更貼切了。 有時我真是不得不嘆服於中文的博大精深。 在這種情況下, 我覺得只有中文才能表達真正的我。如果我不能和我的另一半分享這種意境那真是一種無法彌補的遺憾...

只可惜, 對我生命中重要的女人來說, 這些似乎都並不重要。是否有一個能真正瞭解,分享中華文化的枕邊人, 是一件可有可無的小事。這些傻事好像都只有我會在乎。我真是一個傻子。我不瞭解, 我真的不瞭解。只可惜, 我不瞭解的事情太多了...

Words on a page

I have been swallowing books whole on this trip, it's been great. Traveling alone gives me much time to read, whether it's waiting for trains, eating a meal, sitting at a cafe, or enjoying a beer under the sun. And plenty of time to think - sometimes too much. It's both a blessing and a curse.

I managed to finish Penguin's History of Europe, The Alchemist, Life of Pi, and I'm half way through Love in the Time of Cholera. I have much to say about each of them, but right now as I am reading Love in the Time of Cholera, I cannot help but be deeply moved. What hauntingly beautiful, melancholic writing! His expositions on loss and love, whether it's capturing the acute pangs of spurned, unrequited love or the fickle nuances of a woman's love and spite, are simply exquisite. And his quotes! This man is a poet with prose; his delectable quotes are sprinkled throughout pages of lolling, beautiful writing, like gems scattered along a beach of fine, ivory sand. Some of my favorites so far

"For curiosity is but one of the many masks that love wears..."

"...human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves."

"...that the heart's memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks for this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past."

and many, many more.

And Florentino Ariza! How I identify with how he feels, down to every last emotion, thought, and utterance. Its uncanny parallel of reality is eerie, almost surreal. Does art imitate life, or life imitate art? Or are they all really one and the same, as "all the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players", and so I am merely playing a part as well, in this grand farce of life...

Ever been in jail?

(in case you're wondering why I have time to blog, it's because I'm searching for a last-minute flight from Prague to Budapest, and since I'm online anyways, might as well vent to you all)

So at 4am last night on my night train from prague to budapest, I got woken up by the border guards to check our passports - this is routine for international night trains. What followed afterwards, was anything but, unfortunately.

After two burly men inspected my passport for a while and conversed rapidly in Slovakian, the younger one beckons me outside the cabin with a very stern look.

guard: There is problem. You no have Slovak republic visa
me (still groggy after being woken up): Yes, I understand. I'm just passing through the Slovak republic on route to Budapest from Prague. See, here's my Czech visa, and here's my Hungarian visa
guard: Not possible. We send you back Czech republic
me (now starting to wake up): Whoa wait, please I'm not stopping in Slovak republic at all, I'm just passing through, I'll be in Hungary in one or two hours, I'm a US permanent resident...
guard: Not possible. Get luggage now. Get out.

Shit, I thought. At this point it was very clear the discussion was over. He was also looking at me very menacingly. What followed after was quite bewildering: I quickly gathered my bags and got off the train. Then more armed guards joined us and escorted me to a police station by the train station. I ask the guy where they're taking me but the only reply I got was, "we send you back czech republic." Then they proceeded to lock me in a room inside their jail with barred doors and windows, and only exit was to a nearby toilet. I had to wait inside the room without any explanation or how long I'll be held. So I had plenty of time to kick myself for choosing train instead of air travel, whether I could have argued more effectively, and mulled over my life in general ad infinitum. I was able to transit through Denmark w/o a denmark visa, so I thought it should be ok transiting on the way to Hungary; apparently not. I've never been behind bars, I guess now I know what that feels like...not fun at all.

After what seem like an infinite length of time, they finally unlocked the door. Then 5 armed guards "escorted" me onto a train into a special back compartment (ever wonder what goes on in the last locked compartment of the train? now you know), where I noticed someone else being "escorted" as well. So we rode the train back into Czech republic, where they finally released me and I fondly bid them adieu. Then I had to catch another train back to Prague at 7:20am

So here I am, back in Prague now, 13 hrs after I had left. Exhausted, hungry, and bewildered. It was pretty stupid for me not to check w/ the Hungarian consulate, but then I had pissed them off and they barely gave me my visa into Hungary in the first place, so not sure how helpful they would've been. Plus I was running so short on time before I left, hardly had time to plan at all...argh, anyways. Now I'm about to spend $$$$ buying a last minute ticket to fly from Prague to Budapest tonight, I don't even want to think about it...sigh.

Lesson learned: Must. Get. American. Passport. Next. Time.

Magnificient Prague

A sign that you´ll been traveling for a while - this morning someone said, ¨Hey, what happened with the hurricane?¨, and I said, ¨What hurricane?¨ It wasn´t until we turned on BBC that I saw there was a massive hurricane hitting the US. Ah yes, that hurricane. On the other hand, I can tell you that it´s 24.1 CZK to 1 US$ and our dollar is terrible when it comes to traveling.

*******
I only have one word to describe Prague - magnificient. Absolutely magnificient. The sheer scale and number of sights are just incredible. The Charles bridge, Prague Palace, Town center, etc., are all an order magnitude grander than anything in the Baltics. The city reminds me of a hybrid of Barcelona and Vienna actually. All the energy and craziness of Barcelona combined with the culture and arts of Vienna. Unfortunately, it is also a city absolutely mobbed by tourists. There are hordes of them, worst than anything I´ve seen in London, Paris, or Rome all combined. Everything is so touristy here it is obviously not an authentic Czech experience any more. I wish I had seen Prague 15 years ago before it was trampeded by tourists, it would have been quite an amazing experience.

If I had to pick between Prague and Vienna, I'd have to go with Vienna - my first time to Europe, its musical scene, and I was in love - but only by a hair. Prague is definitely a special, special place though. Someday, I'll be back. Charles bridge at night
Charles bridge at sunset
St. Nicholas church
Tyn church

Tere from Estonia!

Old town during the day

The very Russian Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Old town at night

My Baltic journey began in Estonia, the most modern country of the Baltic states. The first two days we were in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. I can see why they call it the beautiful capital, because not only is it charming and beautiful, but it is also where all the beautiful people gather. I have never seen such a large number of 6" blonds, they must grow on trees here. It has an interesting mix of Scandinavian, Russian, and Finnish influence, due to its previous Swedish and Russian rule. Thus there is a very Scandinavian Old town, a la Gamla Stan, Stockholm, but there's also an Orthodox cathedral, and lots of Finnish signs everywhere.

As a country that was just liberated from Soviet rule 10 yrs ago and just joined the EU, the heart of Tallinn is surprisingly modern. It has all the same luxury shops and infrastructure of a first-tier city, and most everyone I met spoke English embarrassingly well. No wonder Skype is basing its operations out of Estonia. Estonian's Finn-Uric linguistic origins does make it extremely difficult to learn, as it has no Latin or Greek roots and I couldn't even attempt to guess at what the words meant. My attempt at Estonian was pretty pathetic on the other hand, I only managed to pick up "Hello" and "Thank you" by the end of my stay, where as I was able to pick up a lot more French and German last time. I am always impressed by how multilingual Europeans are, especially those from small countries like Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, and now Estonia. And of course it always makes me feel pathetic at how linguistically challenged I am, living in the US. It always reminds me of how ethnocentric it can be to live in the US at times, where the majority American just has a warped (at least a very self-centered) world view, where they see no need to learn about others' languages, cultures, or history. It is quite refreshing to get out and be in an environment when a country sees itself as one of many in this world, in multiple contexts and relationships that it has to delicately navigate, rather than enforcing its will as the reference country that everyone else has to live by. Granted, small countries need to be more circumspect in establishing their presence, but it's refreshing nonetheless.
We stumbled upon an unknown cafe during the day that was totally off the beaten path. Its entrance is hidden in this cavern from a side street. It's a pretty chill cafe during the day, serving some light food. But at night it turns into really cool bar where the locals gather. The night we were there happened to be a jam night for a bunch of jazz students from the Estonian Music Academy, so they gathered from all over Scandinavia and it was totally awesome. The drummer was from Sweden, bassist from Norway, and pretty much these kids gathered from all over to take this one class and study in Tallinn for the summer, so this is their regular jam session where the local students all come and hang out. I guess this has been an inspiring trip so far, first I saw Tick tick boom, then now watching these kids totally got me amped up, I've accomplished so little and squandered so much time, there is so much left to be done.

I am slogging through J.M. Roberts' History of Europe right now. I started it after last year's trip, and am hoping to finish it before this trip is over. It is a great read; analytical, systematic, and insightful, though it makes for extremely slow reading (Someone who uses more subordinate clauses in their writing than I do!) I think the distinguishing feature of a great historian is the ability to sift through and rise above all the facts and chronology to identify key themes, trends, ideologies, and paradigms which have driven world events. I think Roberts does a great job at this, as he is able to clearly articulate the key ideas around which one can construct a framework to analyze history, to understand why A, B, C, happened because of L, M, N, and how it led to X, Y, Z of today. It really helps one to understand why the world is the way it is today.

Hey, mommy he looks like me!

Statue of the Kissing Students in Tartu, one of the most romantic statues I've ever seen

One, two, three...

Argh, the cafe is kicking us out, I'll have to write more later.

First impressions

There's nothing like stepping into a foreign airport to remind one of what it feels like to be on the road again. There's always that moment of panic when I realize that I'm 6,000 miles from home without the safety of my cellphone, car, computer; tethered to no one and nothing but what I've strapped to my back. Yet, it's funny how quickly the instincts kick in again, as I quickly get my subway map, cash, guide, and set off about a new city. Perhaps it awakens our ancient hunter-gatherer instincts from its slumber in civilization; I can't describe what it feels like except it makes me feel so alive again. God it's good to be on the road again.

I love how a metropolis like London provides so much stimuli - visually, auditory, asthetically, intellectually, everything. Just walking into a subway station, I am bombarded by all that's going on: walls lined with posters of the latest musicals and plays; the chatter of various languages - Spanish, French, German - and others indistinguishable to my ears; the colorful and quirky fashion of the Londonites (not that I qualify as a fashionista, but I guess I do pay more attention to these things now thanks to Gman). It makes the city bustle with electricity similar to NYC, but with a stiffer upper lip. In comparison, Seattle just feels like a wasteland, with none of the same throbbing vibrancy. London certainly feels more modern than a Paris or Rome, but it's also got its share of hauteur and tradition, as I was reminded yesterday while dining at The Connaught, when the restroom staff "assisted" me in washing my hands. Now I've never had someone wait on me, turn on the faucet, squeeze me the soap, and hand me the towel while I wash my hands, even at say Le Bernardin. At that moment I was reminded, oh yeah, it is a bit different here huh?

It was also interesting to note while London is an incredibly diverse city, "diverse" here means "anyone but East Asians". I've seen tons of non-Brit Europeans, Africans, Middle Easterners, Indians, and just about everyone else, but very few East Asians, wonder why? I've always thought that there would be a lot of Asians, maybe not as many as SF or NY, but given the '97 handover and the number of Asian university students, that there would be a lot more. That is quite a shame. Still, I love the diversity here. It just makes life so much more interesting

Trafalgar Square on a sunny afternoon

Wondering what those black bottle tops are?















Apparently they like to lock their alchohol up!

Musicals, musicals, musicals - I love it!

A nice casual afternoon stroll in the park...

******

Just watched an off-West end musical here called Tick tick boom. Apparently Jonathan Larson actually wrote this before he wrote Rent, but put it aside to finish Rent. All I've gotta say is - If you love Rent, you'll love this. In fact, I'd say I like this even more than Rent, and I watched Rent in theaters 3 times. Even though the music isn't quite as good as Rent (it's still damn good, btw), I think this musical speaks to me so much more. It's heftier, talking about life, death, passion, disillusionment, and growing up. Too bad it's not on off-Broadway anymore, so I guess the only place to see it live is in London. I'm definitely getting the soundtrack though.

Life, continued

To celebrate my trip to Europe this summer, I've decided to start blogging again after a long hiatus. The show must go on, as they say, and so I'll learn too. I will be traveling through the UK, Estonia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, and Hungary from 8/16 - 9/12. I hope to blog frequently and post lots of pictures, so stay tuned!