Sun brings us light, moon brings us inspiration, looking at the sun without keeping out of the sunshine, you will become a blindman, looking at the moon without covering your eyes, you will become a poet.
Alcohole is a liquid of this type: it can preserve everything except for privacy.
Bachel0rs are those who can go to bed from both side of the bed.
A friend of mine sent me the 2007 horoscopes the other day. I found it very amusing not only because of its stylish expression and all the fine words to me, precisely speaking, to all Taurus people, but its somehow veracious description of my character. That is why I was kind of believe in what it says, and therefore chuckled to myself at its conclusion–Lucky Taurus is going to experience a happy piggy`s year.
Taurus` 2007 overview: “Optimism will help you break out of any routines that you want to be free of this year. Focusing on your idealistic approach to life will afford you exciting new opportunities in education and travel. “
As a journalist-to-be with her critical eyes, potimism will help everybody break out of any routines, not only the Taurus people, so basically the first sentence is sort of cliche but should be bear in mind anytime. What interests me is the second one. It says Taurus people tend to be idealistic in their lives. According to Collins Cobuild dictionary, if you describe someone as idealistic, you mean that they have ideals, and based on their behaviour on these ideals, even though this may be impractical. So how can I be afforded “exciting new opportunities in education and travel” when I live my life based on “impractical ideals”? I am very confused. Anyone can give me an convincing explanation??
Taurus 2007 Career: “This is an ideal year for you to excel in a service occupation, most likely healthcare. You make a significant contribution toward creating a more loving world, based on humanitarian ideals.” It also said: “Your work must be spiritually satisfying to be interesting and motivating, and this is a promising time to make that a daily reality.”
I could not help laughing when I saw the fist two sentence. Am I really the sister Teresa type of person? I show sympathy to those homeless dying people in Kolkata, but I will not bring them home and take care of them myself, as many people will not do. This is why I am not sister Teresa, and why there is only one sister Teresa in this world and she deserves the admiration from all of us.
Yet the third sentense is quite true to me. The reason I study journalism is not necessary because that I can change the world with my pen, but that I can be “spiritually satisfied” by knowing the world better. How does the globalisation affect the world economy and our daily lives? How do the politicians fool us around by playing dirty games? How can we be worldly wise and make ourselves safe in this world of unrest? All these questions are journalists` concern and by knowing which better, we may understand how the world runs better.
That is the reason I am excited about the courses in MAIJ, and can`t wait the coming of next semester. Although I may not be qualified enough to be a journalist after the courses, but I believe that I will definitely be smarter to understand the world better. “This is a promising time to make that a daily reality”, said the astrology. I should have a liitle faith that I will have an Lucky piggy`s year!
See your piggy`s year astrology prediction here.
Thai Salad 
Roasted Pork
Roasted Gigot
This is the big dinner that takes 8 hours.
My fisrt real Christmas, bye bye….
There is none a businessman who doesn`t want to adventure in nowadays China, one of the world`s fastest-growing markets. So does Diageo, the world`s leading spirits company who owns famous brands like Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff vodka etc..
I know nothing about Diageo plc before I was allocated to write an report about it for Gary. However, I do know the brand Johnnie Walker. Its ad in China impressed me much. “You are young and sucessful. Why not enjoy them?” “Them” refers to luxuary saloon car, gorgeous, premium drinks…Pure persuasion of splashing money for luxury goods.
The ad exposed human being`s desire of money and social status without hesitation. Indeed, more and more Chinese people are striving to earn more money and climing up for higher social status. But the ad`s unveiling our inner desire is still hardly accepted by most of us, at least not by me. “The ad is of sheer capitalism,” I thought.
It is a brand coming from a UK company called Diageo, who is itching to enter China, one of the world`s fast-growing whisky market. “Tailored for the Chinese market, the campaign relied on the idea that Chinese people are not content simply with the fact of their achievements but often seek the acknowledgment of their peers…Chinese consumers like to signal their success more overtly than those in many other countries,” said the company.
Is that ture? I believe it is true to a certain extent. We are so eager to become stronger that sometimes we crave for greatness and success too much. From leaders in government to staffs in company, they tend to boast of their achievements by druming up in media and of course, splashing wines on table–the greater success they achieve, the more expensive wine they splash.
Interestingly enough, Diageo does know Chinese consumers very well! The first, and most strategically important consumers for Diageo are “Guanxi men”–status-driven 35 to 45-year-olds for whom business entertainning plays a big role. The second are “strong independent women” aged 35 to 45-year-olds. The third group is “upward mobiles”–25 to 35-year-olds men and women who want to be seen at the cutting edge. The last group, the “choice generation”, are early twentysomethings who are eager to explore and experence something new.
Diageo introduced its strategy for expanding in China two years ago. Now Johnnie Walker has 34% of the Chinese whisky market. And there is definitely much for it to play for. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, whisky exports to China rose from 1.5m pounds in 2001 to 46m last year–almost 40 times more!!
I can`t help thinking: China is indeed a huge market!!!
But, another naive thought flashed into my mind: where do Chinese people earn that much money to afford the luxuary drinks like Johnnie Walker? It must be somewhere. I hope the day that most of us can afford Johnnie Walker is coming, rather than enjoyed exclusively by the “guanxi men”.
PS. All facts coming from FT Nov. 14 2006
It is time to write something to memorize my several “first times” in UK: my first Christmas in UK, my fist New Year in UK and my first long-distance journey in
UK.
The way UK people spend their Christmas reminds me of the way we spend in Chinese New Year, and what is more interesting, reminds me of how different people in West and East express love.
Experience in London leaves me an impressive memory of this city–having a taste of red wine under the moon near Tower bridge, damn romantic despite the freezing cold wind.
I`ve got more to say about my Scotland journey. Acting like a real backpacker, hit by the fabulous old architectures in Edinburgh, immersed in the grand lanscape in Highland and met some interesting people in hostel, I got to fall in love with travelling.
