Happy Chinese New Year

In about a day, we will have to bid farewell to the year of chicken but welcome the arrival of dog year.

Recently I have received many gifts from friends of mine. First, Lulu the eldest student in my class got my son a toy racing car that came with a remote control. Nina brought lots of candy to the class and shared them with me as well as others. She also gave me the local specialties she purchased on her trip. Stoney gave me a bottle of wine which was made by his company. Anny also bought my son the game he liked. On Thursday, Frank, the optician, invited me to pay a visit to his store because he said he wanted to clean my glasses free of charge. When I got to his store, he showed me around and eventually passes me two bags of candy. Oh! dear. They looked so delicious to me. Have I forgot anyone here? How about those who haven't got me any thing yet???!!! Hey, no sweat, I am kidding you. Hint! Hint. Actually your attendance to my class has been the best gift for me already.

Last but not least, may the following year be the best one you've ever had. Happy Chinese New Year!!

A hacked digit

I laid my eyes on a magazine story which indeed grossed me out. One guy bought a pint of frozen chocolate custard one day at a restaurant's drive-through lane somewhere in the U.S.. When he popped it in his mouth, he found a piece of severed finger in it. In the first place he thought it might be some candy put in as a bonus , but as he washed it off he could 't believe what he saw but screaming his head off.

The finger belonged to one of the restaurant employees who accidentally lost his finger when working in the kitchen. I think this must be way too crazy because I can't figure out why they could let this happen. They should have found the finger before it was scooped up from the bucket where his finger dropped.

In this respect,I think that poor customer would have a good case against this restaurant with his lawyer. He may win a big moolah eventually. As luck would have it, what can I say?

hacked 斷掉的
digit 手指
laid one's eyes on something 注視某物
gross someone out 使某人噁心
pint 品脫(單位)
custard 布丁蛋糕
drive-through lane 得來速車道
popped something in something 把某物放入某物
severed 斷掉的
screaming one's head off 大聲尖叫
scoop up something 舀起某物
have a case against someone/ something 與某人或某物打官司
As luck would have it 就這麼巧

Year-end wishes

The winter break is on for most of the students here. It seems reasonable to presume that more people would come to learn English during the vacation, so that I may get a bit busier than now. To my life it has been a smooth running for the last year.

In the middle of 2005 I stopped my instructions on Saturdays in Xinzhu with the view to spending more time with my family for the weekend time. I had also accepted a new TOEFL class and got contracted with the cram school to teach office employees on site, which is a good news to me because I believe these rewarding experiences will pay off in the near future.

I took part in the GEPT high-intermediate level a month ago because I think having a license or certificate for one's job could be a guarantee of their skills. Since we can't easily judge peoples' capability only by their appearance, a certified paper to prove one's excellence in his/ her field of expertise may come in handy. This concept applies to me as well.

Before the year of chicken is wrapped up, I just want to say something to cheer everyone up. If you have been out of luck the whole year, don't look back but think positively that all the crap will all be gone soon. Start planning on your new life for the year to come. Eating less meat but more vegetables will do good to your health. Take doing exercises into a routine is the key to success. In any case, I wish you a wonderful year of dog.

A letter to an old friend of mine

Hey Dan*,

How is everything going with your life? Good to hear that you still stick to your job since I know it is getting harder to eke out a living in the US. These days lots of Taiwnaese moved back home or some even seek job opportunities in Mainland. I think you are the blessed one and you attribute your calm and peaceful life to your belief in God, aren't you?

It has been alomost five years since we moved back form the US. Our son is in the first grade in the elementary now, so that we are baring much more pressure and responsibilities on ourselves than ever.

When you get back to visit your parents here in the near future, don't forget to drop by our place. Just keep me informed before you set out your trip. Please also say hi for me to your wife and adorable kid.

Best regards,

Albert Chang

*Dan is not his real name. He is my friend back in college in Taiwan. Now he's living in Washington state.

Gift for daddy

Though Father's day is still far behind, I am actually thinking what we can get him in advance of that day already. In Taiwan, father's day falls on August 8, which lives up to its sound "Ba-Ba" in Chinese Mandarin. Generally speaking, it is a little hard to think about what we can get our father on Father's day. Partly it is because in our society, our father usually plays the role as a person in our family with "a long face", "an indifferent look", "harshness in mind", "stubbornness", and such and such the "code names".

Another reason for that is usually what some fathers really want is sometimes out of our price range. They always go for expensive stuff like golf clubs, lap-top computer, car, or even some antiques in a darned steep price which we can't afford to get at.

On the other hand, we may think about arranging something that he would enjoys. If our dad has a sweet tooth, then it won't be a bad idea to buy him a variety of chocolates for a surprise. Another worthwhile idea is taking him out for a short trip to a place he longs for going. With the whole family's company, he shouldn't be less than satisfaction.

In any case, it really is to his own in terms of our fathers' liking. It is still early to prepare anything for them however, but don't tax your brain too much if you can't think of anything for him. It's just the thought that counts, right?

My new group at Google

I just created a group at google and this group's function is like a on-line forum where all members in the group can interact with one another by sharing information. All members are allowed to post any messages and once it is posted, a copy of it will be mailed to all members' email box.

I will send you a invitation mail now, so please join us in the group to facilitate the Englsih learning process.

	Albert's 老師的線上群組
	進 groups.google.com.tw 站?　瀏覽群組

Hooray!!

I can't help but shout when I gladly saw Brian's improvement on his final exam. Chinese: 91. Math: 82. These scores are way much better than how he did on his mid-term, and also way much better than I expected previously.

Well, I think it is high time to hit my pocket now, since I have promised him that I will award him if he can do well on the test. So, I owe him now a big and a small robots. There is one thing I can be sure of-- it is more effective to educate our kids by encouragement than punishment. Though we might get the same outcome off the kids by scolding or beating; nevertheless, I truly think it isn't the way to do it.

My E-commerce-oriented blog

Recently I have found many people doing e-business and it is like a win-some, loose-some game. You can either pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into building an on-line store that comes with fancy looking Web pages, an user-friendly interface, and also with a fully data-driven server-side support on your Web store, or just spend few bucks creating a single Web page asking people to put an ad on the frontpage of you Web site. The money can be easily burn in a snap, or you make much more than you expected. (A Million Dollar Homepage)

To catch the trend of doing business on the Internet. I have made a blog by the name of Taiwan Only, which is to introduce special things about Taiwan in foreigners' angle. Your contributions are needed if you could tell what are the unique and special things that can only be found on this island. So far, I have spent no money making this guy, but who knows it may become another a million dollar home page one day. I am telling you.

Complimenting others

It is important to compliment people around us in the modern world. If you go for a managerial position in your workplace, learning good people skills becomes essential. If you have a crush on some woman who you wish to go out with, you must learn how to chat up with her and make her happy. If you are in school, being your professor's pet may help you get better grades. Then, who says that giving compliments to people does not matter?

We all have the capability to say positive things to people but we just rarely do it. From now on, try praising your employees if you are a supervisor or something and it will make them more productive and satisfied in their jobs. Few words like "good job!", "You have done so well this time", for sure, they will actually try harder.

Give a girl a sincere compliment without making them feel like you have a ulterior motive. Put a smile on her face, and don't just think about making a play on her, because no one likes a phony guy. Doing so will definitely give her a high for the day. Also, Do consider where the cut-off point is. Avoid doing anything to them like borderline sexual harassment while complimenting ladies around you.

How do you know if your compliments work? Well a simple way to tell is, if the girl accept it, she may respond to you with a compliment as well. Then you you are on the right track!

Web site update

Please check my web site to see the sentences I just posted up.
http://gept.xxking.com

I've got everything.

At times I feel like the luckiest person in the world. Thinking back to what happened to me in my life, it seemed that I have hardly encountered any "big" trouble. Although as I was little, some always tried to give me a hard time to put my life in jeopardy. They punched me or even slapped across my face. At the time, I thought I must be the one with the worst destiny on earth.

As time goes by, I have forgotten what they did to me. In fact I would like to thank them on the other hand. Without their abuse, I wouldn't have become so even-tempered a man. I learned how to suck the hardship into myself. I was also able to confront and resolve the problems with patience and endurance. Everthing turned out to be fine eventually.

I thank God for giving me a wonderful family, a decent job and salary. There seems to be nothing more I can ask of God. As long as I understand I have got everything enough, I will never suffer from being not enough.

Know who you are and why you are here. Nothing of you will be insuffient.

Hello Friends

Hello all my dear friends! To most of you I haven't been in touch with for a while, 2006 is definitely going to bring us new hopes and promises. Here I wish you a wonderful future and don't forget to improve your language skills whenever you are.

I have been still updating my BLOG and Website on a regular basis, so come visit us in your free time. Speaking of it, I would like to thank both Bruce Lin and Steve Pan for their kind contributions to our BLOG. Inviting more good writers will be my first new year's resolution to do. If you know anyone who is itching to share his work with us, please don't hesitate to let me know about it.

Last but not least, please keep me updated about how you are doing, and I will be glad to help you be more proficient in learning English.

January 1, 2006

Happy New Year!!

May all the best things and fortunes always follow you till the end of the year.

Albert Chang