I had seven interviews today. I have been practically living in the career office for the last two days. Friday, I will be off to Chicago to do a second round with XXX company, and next Friday I will be in NYC for a final round with XX.

今天七次面试. 这两天差不多住进了学校的就业办公室. 星期五准备飞芝加哥与XXX公司谈第二轮面试. 下星期五还要飞纽约与XX公司面试最后一轮.

This is going to take a toll on my school work. On one hand, I want to hear back from companies for second rounds, and I want to hear from more companies for more interviews. But on the other hand, I wish that the interviews would peter out so that I can focus on what students are supposed to focus on: school...

感觉到功课很快就会受到影响. 但是没办法, 最后一年里, 就是要把找工作放在第一位. 从一方面来讲,真希望能收到更多公司的正面回复. 但从另一方面讲,真希望少些面试.还是觉得学生就应该更关心学生该做的事:学习...

...and k-drama of course.

当然还有韩剧. 呵呵.

Cheers.

I just got done with four interviews and I have 1 more this afternoon. Then I have four tomorrow and two on Friday...then three or so on Monday, and so on.

刚刚完成四个面试, 下午还有一个。 明天四个, 星期五两个, 星期一三个。。。

I'm a little stressed out, not just because of the interview process. I had sent out my resume pretty indiscriminately, and am more than happy with the number of interview requests. The issue is though, that I'm hearing back from a lot of financial companies and not a whole lot of software developers. Is that a bad omen that people who should want to hire me don't? What does it say about my qualifications?

有点压力。不只是因为找工作本身就很累。我是不管公司的条件把自己的资料大面积的往外发。回复的公司也不少。但是，多部分是一些金融公司，而搞科技的却不多。有点不详的预感。这是不是表明我在自己的专业里不够强？

The funny thing is, all the finance companies keep asking me: "Why do you want to interview with us?" and I don't know what to say other than "uh...why'd you picked me?" Of course that's not what I really say, but still...

好笑的是，那些金融公司一直问我为什么要和他们面试。我总想反问他们为什么要选我和他们面试。当然没有这么说，但心里还是这样想的。

Anyway, I should be happy that I have interviews at all, and I hope that I will have a corresponding number of offers.

其实，有面试机会就是应该庆幸的。希望面试后，还能有很多的录取通知。

Eck, why do we have to enter the real world at all?

。。。干嘛非要长大，非要进入社会呢？

I've decided that it is important to work on my Chinese. This has most formally taken the form of a Chinese class. It's alright, but since this semester is going to be killer with a couple grad classes and loads of interviews every week, I'm apprehensive about the regularity of coursework. Ahh...the trials of being a college senior unfamiliar with the concept of schedule and consistency.

觉得自己的中文太差了，需要进步。所以修了一门中文课。课到不是特别难，但这学期实在太忙了。为了找工作还外加许多的面视。这一星期里就有十几次， 我晕。中文课每次都布置作业，虽然加起来不是很多，但不会像别的课一样写完还能喘两天。我实在不习惯这种规律。

My Chinese Professor is more on the poli-sci track than I expected, so there's going to be none of the pretty and cryptic Chinese prose that I can use to impress without actual comprehension. But as much as I love reading politicians' speeches, I felt that i was missing out on some cultural/historical context.

老师是北大的。以前学过法律，教过经济中文。他对社会，政治要比对文学更感兴趣。跟我很像啊。呵呵。虽然这样也挺好的，不过还是有点失望，本来是想多学点漂亮华丽的词语。不过仔细想想，自己的确还没达到那水平呢。不过还是觉得真的会中文，那么对中国文化和历史的了解是不可缺少的。

Purely out of boredom and nostalgia, I was watching Guo Degang's  Xiangsheng, and I had a sudden craving for Pingshu. To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about it, other than I love listening to stories.

When I was much younger, my oldest uncle (Da Ye) would watch Pingshu on TV...I guess they had special channels devoted for it. At the time, I thought it was really boring: old men dressed up in long gowns doing nothing but talk about things I didn't understand. What I loved though was the gravel, that they would slam down on the table and make a sharp little "paat" sound. What an incredibly satisfying sound.

前两天，巧性看郭德钢的相声。突然特别想听听评书。其实对评书不是很懂，但记得小时候在大爷 （就是我大舅）家经常陪大爷看。那时觉得特别无畏：不过是穿着长袍的老头子讲一些我一点也不懂的往事。不过我很喜欢他们用的那个小木头块儿 （不知道到底叫什么）。小木头块儿往下拍时会有很响亮，又很清脆的 ”啪“ 一声。真的是很过隐的声音。

Later, I gained more of an appreciation for Pingshu after watching 燕子李三 (yan zi li san).
There is a character, an old Pingshu Master, who is doggedly stubborn. He uses his stories as social commentary, and can't be shut up regardless of persecution.

后来看电视连续剧”燕子李三“时，特别欣赏里面的评书先生。他的固执非常可爱，他诉说的故事又是那么的壮观，可他自己的生命却是凄惨的。他用他的故事作为反抗腐败政府的武器。不管受不受欺压，或者有没有听众，他都会不管不顾的说他的书。

In grade school, I tried being a Pingshu Master. I borrowed a chalkboard erasor as a gravel. Unfortunately, I couldn't make the same sound that I had heard in my head, and instead got a lungful of chalkdust.

小学时曾试过当个评书大师。借用老师擦黑板用的泡沫块儿拼命的往桌上敲。不幸的是不管我怎么用力的敲，都敲不出脑子里听到的那声音。反而，吸进一鼻的粉末。

Most recently, I got a hold of about 10 Gigs of Pingshu recordings. I figured it's something that I can listen to in the background that wouldn't distract me away from homework like reading material or video clips would.

就最近，下载了10 个G 的评书录音。有水浒，有三国，还有岳飞等等。原本想着可以象音乐一样一边听一边做功课干活，不会想小说或是电影一样偷击我的时间。

...oh how wrong I was. Unlike music, it's not something that you can listen to without commitment.

。。。可我大错特错了。听故事并不象音乐那样，却更象听课一样，却需要投入的去听。要不然，一晃神儿，就完全错过重要情节了。

Ah well, we'll see how much time I have.

没办法，看我这学期有多少时间吧。

In other news, I'm totally addicted to the k-drama "Queen Seondeuk".

除此之外，最近迷上了韩剧 “善徳女王”。一个周末就看了32集。还好现在每星期只出一两集，要不然时间全都浪费在上面了。

I haven't updated since I've been back from China, which is unfortunate and incredibly lazy of me. I'll try to be more on top of things in the future.

自从我回美国以后，好像就没有更新。对不起啦，朋友们。这半年来实在是太滥了。以后会注意的。

Hi guys,

I know I haven't updated in a LONG time. I've been busy taking finals and doing last minute packing. In 24 hours (if weather allows), I will be in Beijing. Can't wait!

最近一直忙期末考试, 没时间来AnD, 希望大家能谅解. 再过二十多小时就要到北京了! 有些等不急.