Emergency room visits by do-it-yourself painters, plumbers and electricians have climbed in recent years as more people take on tougher projects, armed with more powerful tools.
Ladders lead the list of dangerous items, edging out our sexier items such as power drills and chainsaws. And not all injuries are obvious. Problems like hearing loss and lung damage may not show up for years. The bottom line: Think big when it comes to your DIY dreams, but pay attention to the safety details, too.
1. Wear Goggles
Buy a pair of safety glasses and hang them over your workbench. Buy another pair and hang them off your lawn mower or string trimmer. A pebble propelled by a whirling blade can easily do major damage to your vision, as can a shard kicked up by a chisel, or a silver of wood from a splitting ax. And, no, your normal eyeglasses aren't good enough.
2. Use earmuffs or earplugs.
At Popular mechanics, we've measured the noise from lawn mower at up to 99 decibels. The threshold where factory workers are required to wear ear protection is far lower (though, of course, they have longer exposure). If you mow the lawn or use a chainsaw for any length of time without ear protection, you'll notice temporary hearing loss. That should be a wake-up call--use protection.
3. Save your lungs.
Dust masks will guard your lungs from irritating dust when you sweep the driveway, garage or workshop. That's good, but they'll do nothing to protect you from organic vapors given off by paints and coatings. Always use paint in a well-ventilated area, and, if you're applying spray paint or brushing on oil-based paint, use a respirator with organic vapor cartridges. The respirator's package will tell you which fumes the product is rated to handle. Seems excessive? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires such measures for workers doing the same kind of work.
4. Guard your hands.
You'd obviously wear a pair of work gloves to do demolition or handle broken glass, but we've seen sheet metal, broken cast iron, broken glass and nails tear right through work gloves. Your best all-around protection are work gloves with a reinforced palm, otherwise known as double leather. Sure, they're more expensive (about $7 versus $3 for regular gloves), but then a trip to the emergency room to sew up your hand isn't cheap either.
5. Handle electricity with care.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates there are 4,000 injuries a year associated with extension cords. Fifty percent of the accidents are due to tripping, while 13 percent involve children under five. The cords are responsible for about 5,500 residential fires a year, resulting in 50 deaths and 270 injuries. So, always use an extension cord with an amp rating suited to the power tool you're using. Discard a severely damaged cord, and make minor repairs using a pro-quality indoor/outdoor electrical tape such as 3M Scotch Super 33+. If the cord has multiple damaged areas, you may be able to cut it shorter and install a replacement end on the cord.
6. Buy a first-aid kit.
Everybody knows to keep a first-aid kit in an accessible location in the home, but it seems equally important to keep one close at hand in the shop. Follow these four simple steps--based on advice from the famous Mayo Clinic--to deal with simple workshop cuts:
Step 1:
Minor cuts and scrapes stop bleeding on their own, in most cases. If they don't, apply gentle pressure to the wound with a clean cloth for 20 to 30 minutes. Don't lift the cloth while you wait. It's liable to reopen the wound.
Step 2:
Use plain water to rinse dirt and foreign matter from cuts. Don't apply soap to the wound because it can irritate it. Gently clean around the wound with soap, water and a clean washcloth. There's no need to use iodine-based cleaner or hydrogen peroxide.
Step 3:
Once you've cleaned the wound, apply an antibiotic to keep the surface moist and to discourage infection.
Step 4:
Cover the wound with a bandage. After your cut has healed enough such that infection is unlikely, uncover it. Exposure to the air will speed the healing process.
From http://men.msn.com/
10/10/2007
Ten Habits of Highly Annoying Workers
You always hear about "that guy" or "that girl:" The seat mate on plane trips who wants to exchange life stories; the socially awkward relative no one wants to sit next to at family gatherings; or the college co-ed whose room always smelled like beets. But although you've heard about these annoying characters, you've somehow managed to avoid running into them your entire life. How did that happen?
Even at work, there doesn't seem to be that standard office pest everyone tries to avoid. Wait a second... No, that's silly. It can't be you. People love you: You're constantly making jokes (sure, not everyone gets your humor, but even Carson had his critics); you're always giving people advice (they don't even have to ask!); and you have a work ethic that is unmatched (a little sinus infection isn't going to keep you from making it into the office).
While you may think you have the best intentions in mind, your co-workers may not see it that way. Constantly making jokes--especially of the off-color variety--doesn't make you irresistible, it makes you irritating; giving unsolicited advice is more invasive than it is sensitive; and while you may think you're martyr for coming to work despite being sick, your co-workers think you're a masochist.
While you can't get along with everyone all the time, you can at least do your part to contribute to a peaceful, productive work environment. Have a little consideration for your co-workers. Don't be that guy.
10 Habits of Highly Annoying Co-Workers:
Habit No.1: You make a daily call to your partner to "check in,", which can last anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes and, depending on how you two are getting along these days, can result in either a nasty fight or the sweet murmurings of baby talk.
Habit No.2: You just can't seem to make it to those early morning meetings on time. If only the wait at the Starbucks next door weren't so slow, you'd never have to ask your co-workers what you missed.
Habit No.3: You almost always leave the office early "to beat traffic." You're positive that you have the worst commute of all your officemates.
Habit No.4: You buy a huge gift basket for someone in the office without consulting any of your co-workers, and then tell everyone that they owe you &10 to chip in.
Habit No.5: You borrow your neighbor's stapler without asking and only remember to return it when your neighbor complains that he or she can't find it.
Habit No.6: You can't understand what the big deal is whenever you ask your co-workers for "a tiny favor." Don't they know how much work you have piling up? You talk about it all the time.
Habit No.7: You've once again forgotten to take home and wash the container that has the remnants of your tuna salad luch a few days ago.
Habit No.8: You answer questions or reply to comments with "That's what she said."
Habit No.9: You don't see the need to learn how to send a fax or fix a paper jam when there's always someone around to help you do it.
Habit No.10: You play your favorite boy band CD on repeat. All day. Everyt day.
From http://msn.careerbuilder.com
Even at work, there doesn't seem to be that standard office pest everyone tries to avoid. Wait a second... No, that's silly. It can't be you. People love you: You're constantly making jokes (sure, not everyone gets your humor, but even Carson had his critics); you're always giving people advice (they don't even have to ask!); and you have a work ethic that is unmatched (a little sinus infection isn't going to keep you from making it into the office).
While you may think you have the best intentions in mind, your co-workers may not see it that way. Constantly making jokes--especially of the off-color variety--doesn't make you irresistible, it makes you irritating; giving unsolicited advice is more invasive than it is sensitive; and while you may think you're martyr for coming to work despite being sick, your co-workers think you're a masochist.
While you can't get along with everyone all the time, you can at least do your part to contribute to a peaceful, productive work environment. Have a little consideration for your co-workers. Don't be that guy.
10 Habits of Highly Annoying Co-Workers:
Habit No.1: You make a daily call to your partner to "check in,", which can last anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes and, depending on how you two are getting along these days, can result in either a nasty fight or the sweet murmurings of baby talk.
Habit No.2: You just can't seem to make it to those early morning meetings on time. If only the wait at the Starbucks next door weren't so slow, you'd never have to ask your co-workers what you missed.
Habit No.3: You almost always leave the office early "to beat traffic." You're positive that you have the worst commute of all your officemates.
Habit No.4: You buy a huge gift basket for someone in the office without consulting any of your co-workers, and then tell everyone that they owe you &10 to chip in.
Habit No.5: You borrow your neighbor's stapler without asking and only remember to return it when your neighbor complains that he or she can't find it.
Habit No.6: You can't understand what the big deal is whenever you ask your co-workers for "a tiny favor." Don't they know how much work you have piling up? You talk about it all the time.
Habit No.7: You've once again forgotten to take home and wash the container that has the remnants of your tuna salad luch a few days ago.
Habit No.8: You answer questions or reply to comments with "That's what she said."
Habit No.9: You don't see the need to learn how to send a fax or fix a paper jam when there's always someone around to help you do it.
Habit No.10: You play your favorite boy band CD on repeat. All day. Everyt day.
From http://msn.careerbuilder.com
9/27/2007
Life is just like a piece of cake
Life is just like a piece of cake covered with crap. You have no choice but to eat it. Although it doesn't taste like cake anymore, you can never forget it.
The Crackers I Made Yesterday
Some Chinese people just call these butterfly crackers. But today when I tried to confirm the name of this type of crackers, he told me that butterfly crackers were different from what I made. It would be better to call them just crackers.
Well, they're made from flour and butter. Really delicious. You can say they're ambrosia. Hahaha. They're my virgin crackers.
9/23/2007
Vivian's Pajama
Vivian is the birthday gift from my husband. She was wearing Geisha's costume when I first saw her. And she was also carrying a birth certificate with her. It is said in that certificate "My furry friend is special. I brought it to life in the year of friendship. I chose it. I stuffed it. I made it my own. I promise to love it and give it a home."
Well, Yesterday, I spent several hours on making my lovely Vivian a cute pink pajama. As I've promised, I'll give her a warm home.
9/22/2007
9/15/2007
Our application has finally been in process
The immigration authority has finally started to process our application. Our application was received on August 13, 2007 and has been processed on Septmeber 12, 2007. It doesn't mean that Amos has got the qulification of his sponership, however, which means we've got to wait more days to get the first DM.
Amos had been married and got divorced in June, 2005 before we met. I don't whether this matters the process of our application or not. We have no other choice, but to wait. If they don't send Amos a letter on next Monday, I'll ask him to call the immigration authority to make sure what is exactly going on.
I've started a group which talks about food and cooking on September 9th, 2007. As I've working hard on this group, there've been 36 members since the day it got started. People who love cooking keep joining my group. I hope this group can help to increase the sales of my online shop.
Here are some dishes I've cooked during the past few days.
My virgin DIY mooncakes
My DIY Korean-stylel rice
Yangzhou rice
Sweet and vinegar pork
Amos had been married and got divorced in June, 2005 before we met. I don't whether this matters the process of our application or not. We have no other choice, but to wait. If they don't send Amos a letter on next Monday, I'll ask him to call the immigration authority to make sure what is exactly going on.
I've started a group which talks about food and cooking on September 9th, 2007. As I've working hard on this group, there've been 36 members since the day it got started. People who love cooking keep joining my group. I hope this group can help to increase the sales of my online shop.
Here are some dishes I've cooked during the past few days.
My virgin DIY mooncakes
My DIY Korean-stylel rice
Yangzhou rice
Sweet and vinegar pork
9/11/2007
A Housewife's Daily Life
2007.09.11
There was nothing newsworthy about me today. I've been staying at home all day, cooking and doing my laundry. My mom stopped by this afternoon and we had dinner together. I think my mom as the most wonderful woman in this world and the one who loves me the most. she sacroficed a lot in order that I had a happy life. I want her to be happy and do my best to make her fell that I love her just as much as she loves me.
She and Uncle Yu are planning to buy some stocks. To show my support, I decided to invest some of my money to buy some also. To tell the truth, I'm not really interested in that. My mom seems to be very interested in stockmarket and be ready to give it a shot, however. I'll give her 5000.00 RMB to let her buy some for me. But, of course, I'll tell AMos about this first.
I got a new haircut, which AMos and my parents said was very suitable for me. I'm happy that all of them like it.
I called my father to make sure he's ok with waht had happened. He didn't seem to be clear about ht situation. According to his reponse, I wondered if my grandmother and aunt called him and told him what had happened at the party. I want him to accept Amos as soon as possible because the immigration authority has started to process the cases handed in August 8th, 2007. If everything goes well, next week will be our turn.
Well, I have nothing to do , but to wait. I've started a group which talks about cooking and fodd two days ago. I 've been working hard on that group and I have 18 members in that group, including me. What is the most difficult is that you've got to work alone before your forum becomes attractive. Most of people give up at the beginning. I don't know how long I can stick to it and what's gonna happen, but I've got to try.
You know, all things are difficult before they become easy.
There was nothing newsworthy about me today. I've been staying at home all day, cooking and doing my laundry. My mom stopped by this afternoon and we had dinner together. I think my mom as the most wonderful woman in this world and the one who loves me the most. she sacroficed a lot in order that I had a happy life. I want her to be happy and do my best to make her fell that I love her just as much as she loves me.
She and Uncle Yu are planning to buy some stocks. To show my support, I decided to invest some of my money to buy some also. To tell the truth, I'm not really interested in that. My mom seems to be very interested in stockmarket and be ready to give it a shot, however. I'll give her 5000.00 RMB to let her buy some for me. But, of course, I'll tell AMos about this first.
I got a new haircut, which AMos and my parents said was very suitable for me. I'm happy that all of them like it.
I called my father to make sure he's ok with waht had happened. He didn't seem to be clear about ht situation. According to his reponse, I wondered if my grandmother and aunt called him and told him what had happened at the party. I want him to accept Amos as soon as possible because the immigration authority has started to process the cases handed in August 8th, 2007. If everything goes well, next week will be our turn.
Well, I have nothing to do , but to wait. I've started a group which talks about cooking and fodd two days ago. I 've been working hard on that group and I have 18 members in that group, including me. What is the most difficult is that you've got to work alone before your forum becomes attractive. Most of people give up at the beginning. I don't know how long I can stick to it and what's gonna happen, but I've got to try.
You know, all things are difficult before they become easy.
A Shock in the Morning on Sept. 10
2007.09.10
I went to Tianyi market with Diandian and Zhanglin, and I found this beautiful, beautiful notebook. Then I decided to start my dairy here. I thought if someday when I was gone, my loved one and my children could have something to make them remember me and all good and bad stuff we have gone through. And I want them to know that I love them with all my heart no matter where I am.
Morning, 09:12. I was waken up by a phonecall from my sister Diandian. This phonecall brought me one of the biggest surprises in year 2007. I have to admit that it is really a small world. Here is my story.
As my father wasn't approve of me marrying Amos. Amos and I secretly got married on December 26, 2006. I think that my father will finally understand and respect my decision if he see me being happy with my loved one. So Amos and I just kept quiet. It seemed that we had no choice, but to wait until the right moment came.
Everything has changed since yesterday, however. An acquintance of my mother happened to be one of my aunt's classmates. They met at a party and happened to talk about me. My aunt got super surprised when she knew that I'd already got married without telling my father and my grandmother.
Women always like gossiping. If there was one thing my aunt was known for, it was her ability to gossip. She told every memeber of my family and made everyone nervous. My grandmother was going to call me and blame me for my behaviour, but was stopped by others. I don't want to give comments to my aunt. But I have to say, she's sort of disturbing my life and has sort of hurt me, my father and grandmother. When I shoud get married and whom I should marry aren't her business. Why can't she close her mouth and be a nice person?
I know there is no need to blame her. All I need to do is to figure out one way to make my father accept Amos. I decided not to admit waht had happened was true. However, I'll thell my father my intention of marying Amos and ask him for a permission.
I've been waiting nearly one month to get my first DM on my immigration to Canada. If everything goes well, I can get it at the end of this month. And I got my birtday gift which Amos sent me through canadapost. It's a very cut monkey toy in geisha's costume. And she wears beautiful flower earings. Her name was Vivian Zhang. Well, she's so funny and so cute. That's the best gift I"ve ever received.
Well, that's all for today. IT's already midnight, which means I've got to hit the pillow.
I went to Tianyi market with Diandian and Zhanglin, and I found this beautiful, beautiful notebook. Then I decided to start my dairy here. I thought if someday when I was gone, my loved one and my children could have something to make them remember me and all good and bad stuff we have gone through. And I want them to know that I love them with all my heart no matter where I am.
Morning, 09:12. I was waken up by a phonecall from my sister Diandian. This phonecall brought me one of the biggest surprises in year 2007. I have to admit that it is really a small world. Here is my story.
As my father wasn't approve of me marrying Amos. Amos and I secretly got married on December 26, 2006. I think that my father will finally understand and respect my decision if he see me being happy with my loved one. So Amos and I just kept quiet. It seemed that we had no choice, but to wait until the right moment came.
Everything has changed since yesterday, however. An acquintance of my mother happened to be one of my aunt's classmates. They met at a party and happened to talk about me. My aunt got super surprised when she knew that I'd already got married without telling my father and my grandmother.
Women always like gossiping. If there was one thing my aunt was known for, it was her ability to gossip. She told every memeber of my family and made everyone nervous. My grandmother was going to call me and blame me for my behaviour, but was stopped by others. I don't want to give comments to my aunt. But I have to say, she's sort of disturbing my life and has sort of hurt me, my father and grandmother. When I shoud get married and whom I should marry aren't her business. Why can't she close her mouth and be a nice person?
I know there is no need to blame her. All I need to do is to figure out one way to make my father accept Amos. I decided not to admit waht had happened was true. However, I'll thell my father my intention of marying Amos and ask him for a permission.
I've been waiting nearly one month to get my first DM on my immigration to Canada. If everything goes well, I can get it at the end of this month. And I got my birtday gift which Amos sent me through canadapost. It's a very cut monkey toy in geisha's costume. And she wears beautiful flower earings. Her name was Vivian Zhang. Well, she's so funny and so cute. That's the best gift I"ve ever received.
Well, that's all for today. IT's already midnight, which means I've got to hit the pillow.
9/06/2007
Some dishes I made a few days ago
Lunch I made for myself
Cheese Potatoes
Water-ice made from red bean and milk
Life is short and full of shit. However, you have no choice but to learn to enjoy it. As an saying: no matter how many skies have fallen, we've got to live.
The headache has finally gone
Yesterday was Amos' birthday. I sent a birthday card and a DVD I made by myself on Sept 3rd, 2007. The gift has arrived in Burnaby, BC on time. Unfortunately, however, Amos was sent out to deliver several goods and the card was received by one his colloeagues called Cory. I was a little bit disappointed for being unable to surprise Amos on his birthday. After all, it's always nice to have someone who remembers your birthday.
When I got up from a nap yesterday, I could definitely feel a headache which I used to suffer often. It must have been the wrong posture which caused the damn headache. What's worse, my neck was so sensitive that I had to do yoga and pilates regularly to get rid of the pain.
Although I had done yoga for one and half hour, the headache didn't go and I had no choice, but to take a tablet to take away the pain. It was worse because I forgot to have some food before taking the medicine. The side effects made me feel sick and faint. I had to stop all what I was doing to go to bed. And I felt terrible and was sweating all the time.
In the morning, I was waken up by a phonecall and felt better. I felt like eating something and I made noodles. When I finised the dinner, the pain was obviously eased and I braced myself up to give Amos a phonecall to say "Happy Birthday". Then I went to bed again. When I woke up, the damn headache has finally gone and I could do everthing I wanted again.
When I got up from a nap yesterday, I could definitely feel a headache which I used to suffer often. It must have been the wrong posture which caused the damn headache. What's worse, my neck was so sensitive that I had to do yoga and pilates regularly to get rid of the pain.
Although I had done yoga for one and half hour, the headache didn't go and I had no choice, but to take a tablet to take away the pain. It was worse because I forgot to have some food before taking the medicine. The side effects made me feel sick and faint. I had to stop all what I was doing to go to bed. And I felt terrible and was sweating all the time.
In the morning, I was waken up by a phonecall and felt better. I felt like eating something and I made noodles. When I finised the dinner, the pain was obviously eased and I braced myself up to give Amos a phonecall to say "Happy Birthday". Then I went to bed again. When I woke up, the damn headache has finally gone and I could do everthing I wanted again.
9/03/2007
Happy Birthday to Myself
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to dear Vivian, happy birthday to me...
8/28/2007
The Damn Chiffon Cake
Amos' birthday is coming soon. Knowing that we won't be able to celebrate this special day together as we did last year, I still want to make it romantic, espeacially during this hard time. That's why I've been trying so hard to make chiffon cake during the past few weeks. I want to do something with my own hand to let Amos know that he has a wife loving him thousands of miles away.
However I'm a virgin in baking, which means that I've never baken a cake or even thought about it before. The only manual I have is one receipe I bought from super market. Although I've been trying so hard, I'm far away from success. It's already the fifth time that I failed. Well, it's more difficult than I've been expected. What should I do? What should I do? Maybe I should go to my father to see if he has any idea. Amos' birthday is coming, I don't want to give up by this damn chiffon cake.
God, now I realized that I was not the material for cooking.
However I'm a virgin in baking, which means that I've never baken a cake or even thought about it before. The only manual I have is one receipe I bought from super market. Although I've been trying so hard, I'm far away from success. It's already the fifth time that I failed. Well, it's more difficult than I've been expected. What should I do? What should I do? Maybe I should go to my father to see if he has any idea. Amos' birthday is coming, I don't want to give up by this damn chiffon cake.
God, now I realized that I was not the material for cooking.
8/24/2007
I've Been Hysteric Recently
Having gone to bed at 3:00am this morning, I got up so late and found it was almost noon. Unlike usual, Amos wasn't at home. I gave him a phone call to make sure that everything was alright and he told me that he would be back in one and half hour.
I feel so bored and depressed during the past few days for knowing that we had to wait more than one month to get the first DM of our application for immigration to Canada. I've been trying to make myself busy, such as running a TaoBao E-commerce online shop, baking cake and contact different venders to get more products' information. But I still feel so bad that I'm always wanting to quarrel with someone.
It's already been 12 days since the immigration authority got our application. However, the online status didn't change at all. I heard from some people who also surf the http://canadameet.com that some of the VOs had gone on summer vacation, which might be the reason why the processing time of all application had slown down recently.
Amos came home late in the evening at 11:30pm, which made me a little bit angry. He said because of our fee of application, he had been a bit short of money this month. He was working all night to get some extra money tonight. I understand that quite well, that's why I didn't ask him to remit me money for my daily life.
Last night, one of my female friends whose husband was also in Canada told me that her husband had written her a very warm-hearted letter, which reminded me that Amos hadn't written me anything since this March or some other, I couldn't remember exactly. But I indeed feel that there hasn't been much passion since we got married. He seems to have become less motivated and romantic, comparing to our courtship. I got super mad when Amos told me that the reason why I accused him of being less romantic was I had been too bored and had nothing to do; all what I needed was a job. After hearing this I was totally out of control. How could he say so? I thought he didn't understand my feeling at all. I hysterically yelled at him and hung up the phone, turned off my cell phone and made my home phone engaged.
And then, I felt that I was a little bit wrong. I shouldn't have gotten mad because my husband was also having a hard time just as me. I accepted his call and cried over the phone. I told him I didn't mean to hurt him, it's just because I miss him so much and I also apologized for getting angry and yelling at him.
Later this evening, I told one of my turkish friends that I had been feeling bad during the past few days. My friend said I needed to have a rest. And he told me a very interesting sentence: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is future, today is gift. That's why it's called present.
I feel so bored and depressed during the past few days for knowing that we had to wait more than one month to get the first DM of our application for immigration to Canada. I've been trying to make myself busy, such as running a TaoBao E-commerce online shop, baking cake and contact different venders to get more products' information. But I still feel so bad that I'm always wanting to quarrel with someone.
It's already been 12 days since the immigration authority got our application. However, the online status didn't change at all. I heard from some people who also surf the http://canadameet.com that some of the VOs had gone on summer vacation, which might be the reason why the processing time of all application had slown down recently.
Amos came home late in the evening at 11:30pm, which made me a little bit angry. He said because of our fee of application, he had been a bit short of money this month. He was working all night to get some extra money tonight. I understand that quite well, that's why I didn't ask him to remit me money for my daily life.
Last night, one of my female friends whose husband was also in Canada told me that her husband had written her a very warm-hearted letter, which reminded me that Amos hadn't written me anything since this March or some other, I couldn't remember exactly. But I indeed feel that there hasn't been much passion since we got married. He seems to have become less motivated and romantic, comparing to our courtship. I got super mad when Amos told me that the reason why I accused him of being less romantic was I had been too bored and had nothing to do; all what I needed was a job. After hearing this I was totally out of control. How could he say so? I thought he didn't understand my feeling at all. I hysterically yelled at him and hung up the phone, turned off my cell phone and made my home phone engaged.
And then, I felt that I was a little bit wrong. I shouldn't have gotten mad because my husband was also having a hard time just as me. I accepted his call and cried over the phone. I told him I didn't mean to hurt him, it's just because I miss him so much and I also apologized for getting angry and yelling at him.
Later this evening, I told one of my turkish friends that I had been feeling bad during the past few days. My friend said I needed to have a rest. And he told me a very interesting sentence: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is future, today is gift. That's why it's called present.
Some Good Sentences to Remember
The day before yesterday my sister drove me to Carrifer to do some shopping because there were many import foods suitable for cooking western dishes. Before that she took me to an English party held by vividclub, where my sister was studying. I was bored at the party by playing those stupid and boring games with some high school students. We left the party after staying there less than an hour. Ha, and I found shopping is far interesting than that club.
As usual, Carrifer was full of people who were just from work, doing their daily purchase. Well, it's hard, but that's the way to survive in this world. Then my sister gave a series of sitcom called "Desperate Housewives". It's already been more than 2 months since my sister joined Wall Street English, which provides her more oppotunities to practice her oral English. Obviously, she has made some progress, comparing to his past. However, she's easy to be proud of herself and sometimes too confident. I hope she know that there are still a lot of things we need to learn. Listen and learn are two important things in our whole lives.
I started to watch "Desperate Housewives" and tried to remember some good sentences. Here are some:
* I spent that day as I spent every other day, polishing the routine of my life until it gleamed with perfection.
* If there was one thing she was known for, it was her ability to look on the bright side.
* She tried to think of a reason for dropping in on me unannouced.
* For a moment, she stood motionless in her kitchen, grief-stricken by this senseless tragedy.
I found that sometimes you could totally understand the meaning of the sentence in English whereas it was difficult to translate them exactly into chinese. That's why we all need to learn.
I'm leaving for Wall Street English in an hour and will make another chiffon cake when I come back.
Ok, that's all for now. Hope I could make great progress in my English.
As usual, Carrifer was full of people who were just from work, doing their daily purchase. Well, it's hard, but that's the way to survive in this world. Then my sister gave a series of sitcom called "Desperate Housewives". It's already been more than 2 months since my sister joined Wall Street English, which provides her more oppotunities to practice her oral English. Obviously, she has made some progress, comparing to his past. However, she's easy to be proud of herself and sometimes too confident. I hope she know that there are still a lot of things we need to learn. Listen and learn are two important things in our whole lives.
I started to watch "Desperate Housewives" and tried to remember some good sentences. Here are some:
* I spent that day as I spent every other day, polishing the routine of my life until it gleamed with perfection.
* If there was one thing she was known for, it was her ability to look on the bright side.
* She tried to think of a reason for dropping in on me unannouced.
* For a moment, she stood motionless in her kitchen, grief-stricken by this senseless tragedy.
I found that sometimes you could totally understand the meaning of the sentence in English whereas it was difficult to translate them exactly into chinese. That's why we all need to learn.
I'm leaving for Wall Street English in an hour and will make another chiffon cake when I come back.
Ok, that's all for now. Hope I could make great progress in my English.
8/22/2007
The Immigration Process Seems to Have Come to a Full Stop
Our immigration application was received on August 12th, 2007. It had been already ten days since we handed in our application. However, we still can't check our status through the online system of immigration authority. Everything seems to have come to a full stop, which makes me feel depressed and anxious.
I've been busy with my Taobao online shop and learning making delicious cake. Although I tried so hard, I failed. All things are difficult before they become easy. So I'm not gonna give up, but keep on trying and trying until I can make delicious cake.
I haven't taken my dog for a walk recently because of my laziness, which makes me feel really guilty for this. What I'm gonna do tonight is to let him take the air. But I can only do that after 11:00pm for he always barks at people while walking in our community.
I bought a yoga magazine and read something about that, then I decided to change my sina blog into a blog which introduced ABC of yoga. I know it takes time, but I have to do this if it can help to increase my sales of yoga mats on my Taobao online shop.
I thought I'd already gotten out of E-commerce, but what I'm doing now is to be involved in that more and more. Anyway, I'll keep working hard until my reputation reaches 1 diamond.
I've been busy with my Taobao online shop and learning making delicious cake. Although I tried so hard, I failed. All things are difficult before they become easy. So I'm not gonna give up, but keep on trying and trying until I can make delicious cake.
I haven't taken my dog for a walk recently because of my laziness, which makes me feel really guilty for this. What I'm gonna do tonight is to let him take the air. But I can only do that after 11:00pm for he always barks at people while walking in our community.
I bought a yoga magazine and read something about that, then I decided to change my sina blog into a blog which introduced ABC of yoga. I know it takes time, but I have to do this if it can help to increase my sales of yoga mats on my Taobao online shop.
I thought I'd already gotten out of E-commerce, but what I'm doing now is to be involved in that more and more. Anyway, I'll keep working hard until my reputation reaches 1 diamond.
8/17/2007
Some Watsons Products for Women I Bought a Few Days Ago
Red Apple Whitening Eye MaskFor the sweetest day!
Enchanted by the fresh air of red apple, you feel like joy in the Eden! The red apple essence can make the eye area skin white and reduce dark circles; and the additional milk essence can reduce fine lines and enhance skin elasiticity, allowing your eyes to shine. Lingered with its fresh apple fragrance, you will feel a sense of enjoyment.
Directions:
After cleaning, attach the eye mask close to your eye frame and removed after 15-20 minutes. If you feel uncomfortable after using the product, please stop using or consult your doctor.
Suitable skin types: Fit to all skins
Collagen Brightening Peeling Cleanser
Exfoliating Foot Scrub(With raspberry & invigorates)
A combination of Raspberry & Cinnamon extract; to gently exfoliate dead skin cells. It also soothes and invigorates your feet.
Directions:
Apply generously to the feet and massage gently. Leave on for a few minutes and rinse off with warm water. Repeat applicaiton. Use after soaking with Watsons' Raspberry & Cinnamon Foot Soak.
Caution: Keep out of reach of children.
Ingredients: Water, Mineral Oil, Ceteary! Alcohol, Glycerine, Isopropyl, Myristate, Apricot (Walnut) Shell Powder, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearech-20. Stearic Acid, Carbomer, DMDM Hydantoin, Triethanolamine, Fragrance, Tetrasodium EDTA, lodopropnyl Butylcarbamate.
Cleansing Jel for Nose 
Nivea Sun Spray8/14/2007
Vivian's Immigration Process
Last night, I log in http://www.canadapost.com/ and use the track number Amos had given me to check whether our application for immigration to Canada was delivered or not. I was told that the application had been successfully delivered to the receiver on August 13th, which means the review of our profile was going to start. I was a little bit worried for forgetting to sign my name on the last page of my passport. However, Amos told me not to worry to much of that. Thinking about what I have done during the past two months and the boring stuff I have got through, I think I have been indeed a little bit hysteric recently, I need to relax. If everything goes well, I can probably get my visa in three or four months.http://www.canadameet.com/ is a very interesting website which helps me a lot with all the preparation of my application. I got to know some interesting people there, such as roseknight, Lynn, Big mouth Lee etc. We have been communicating a lot on this immigration issue and encouraging each other for knowing that all of us have to go through a hard time before we meet our loved once.
I wasn't in mood during the past few days for my menstruation was going to come, which made me crazy about food, espcially, Ice-cream, hot-pot, and all junk food I loved. I've started to want to eat hot-pot since last week. Having no one to have dinner with me, my hot-pot dream hasn't come true yet. No matter wheter I will eat hot-pot with friends or alone, I'm going to have it, I've made up my mind. This is the consolation prize for what I've suffered during the past two months and my coming period.8/12/2007
A Complaining Letter I Wrote for One of My Former Colleagues
Dear Robert,
Sorry to trouble you with this Email. But knowing that your attitude is very important in order that we could make the right decision, I think it’s necessary to tell you what has happened between me and Ms. Xu during the past few days.
From my point of view, as director’s secretary and translator, one is supposed to be effective, quick thinking as well as have the information carrying and harmoniously working capabilities, which, I think, directly affect the efficiency of solving problems and also the communication between you and us. However, what has happened made me feel doubt whether this Ms. Xu was serious and eligible for her current position.August 10, 2007, I received a phone call from Ms. Xu, who told me that there was a document waiting for me to give advice and she also asked me whether I would work on Saturday or not. Meanwhile, I also learnt from your Email that the problem was kind of urgent and should be done on Monday. According to the emergency mentioned in the Email, I sent both a reply through my working Email and a short message to Ms. Xu’s cell phone on Saturday morning to inform her that the reply had been sent already. Then Ms. Xu sent back a short message to confirm that she had already known and would deal with it.
I gave Ms. Xu a phone call at 10:00pm on Saturday to confirm if she had received the Email and sent it to you in time. The answer she had given me made me think that she was neither serious about her work nor respectful to her clients or colleagues. She told me that she hadn’t read the email due to the poor wireless condition during the daytime and she also said you didn’t have time to read the Email. I had no choice, but to wait until next Monday. Having been not able to bear the behavior and attitude of Ms. Xu, I sent a short message to her and said that I didn’t think she was doing her duty. The way Ms. Xu acted after receiving my message was quite unexpected.
She called my sister who was still suffering from poor health condition to complain about my so-called unfair judgement on her and she sent me a huge amount of messages to complain. She also said she had already told you about what had happened and you would give her a fair judgment.
August 12, 2007, Ms. Xu called me and was trying to argue with me over the phone. According to her hysterics and rudeness, I didn’t think it was necessary to talk with her and I hung up the phone. Besides, I thought how to finish the work at hand more efficiently and accurately was obviously more important than those meaningless arguments.
Although I couldn’t communicate with you in person, I think it is still necessary to tell you through the Email about what has happened. In our current system, all trainees who are still on their probation period need to be estimated at the end of the month to see whether they are eligible for their position or not. Apart from their professional qualifications, the standards also include their team spirit, service awareness, working responsibility as well as the ability of learning.
According to the observation to Ms. Xu during the past month, 30 points need to be deducted from her overall merit (60-points is the underline). We’re considering of arranging a new assistant for you because we don’t think Ms. Xu is appropriate for her work. However, before we make any decision, it is extremely important to get your approval. If you don’t approve of our decision and think Ms. Xu still can be in her current position, she is going to be given one more month as the probation period to see whether she will be eligible enough for her job.
Please feel free to tell us your opinion so that we can help you more efficiently.
Best Regards,
Qiqige, Wuyun
---------------------------------
The above is a complaining letter I wrote for my former colleague, who is working now in a foreign company. Everyone seem to have started a new life since they left Eguo.com. Some of them bought new apartments, some got married, some found or lost their loved one. Anyway, everyone is looking forward to good oppertunities.
Thinking about what had happend to me, it's just like a dream. One year before, two years before, I was just expecting to find a nice person to spend the rest of my life with him. Fortunately, I found that guy, well, at least from my point of view, although my father didn't approve of our marriage. Yesterday, my husband sent my immigration appliction through canada post to the immigration authority. Now we have to wait about 3-6 months to get the final decision.
Maybe I should find a job to kill time. But I'm not that kind of person. Once I take a job offer, I take it very seriously and can't let it go easy. So how can I find a job just to kill my time. Time is not for kill, it's for us to plan our future, to do something wonderful, to be spent with someone you really care. Don't take time for granted. So I work hard to improve my English. I want to go to universtity when I arrive in Vancouver. Amos also thinks so.
I was going to go shopping which was stopped by an unexpected rain. I saw the lightning and heared the thunder and gave up my former plan. Now, I'm sitting here and writing my dialogue. Let's just wait and see how things go...
Sorry to trouble you with this Email. But knowing that your attitude is very important in order that we could make the right decision, I think it’s necessary to tell you what has happened between me and Ms. Xu during the past few days.
From my point of view, as director’s secretary and translator, one is supposed to be effective, quick thinking as well as have the information carrying and harmoniously working capabilities, which, I think, directly affect the efficiency of solving problems and also the communication between you and us. However, what has happened made me feel doubt whether this Ms. Xu was serious and eligible for her current position.August 10, 2007, I received a phone call from Ms. Xu, who told me that there was a document waiting for me to give advice and she also asked me whether I would work on Saturday or not. Meanwhile, I also learnt from your Email that the problem was kind of urgent and should be done on Monday. According to the emergency mentioned in the Email, I sent both a reply through my working Email and a short message to Ms. Xu’s cell phone on Saturday morning to inform her that the reply had been sent already. Then Ms. Xu sent back a short message to confirm that she had already known and would deal with it.
I gave Ms. Xu a phone call at 10:00pm on Saturday to confirm if she had received the Email and sent it to you in time. The answer she had given me made me think that she was neither serious about her work nor respectful to her clients or colleagues. She told me that she hadn’t read the email due to the poor wireless condition during the daytime and she also said you didn’t have time to read the Email. I had no choice, but to wait until next Monday. Having been not able to bear the behavior and attitude of Ms. Xu, I sent a short message to her and said that I didn’t think she was doing her duty. The way Ms. Xu acted after receiving my message was quite unexpected.
She called my sister who was still suffering from poor health condition to complain about my so-called unfair judgement on her and she sent me a huge amount of messages to complain. She also said she had already told you about what had happened and you would give her a fair judgment.
August 12, 2007, Ms. Xu called me and was trying to argue with me over the phone. According to her hysterics and rudeness, I didn’t think it was necessary to talk with her and I hung up the phone. Besides, I thought how to finish the work at hand more efficiently and accurately was obviously more important than those meaningless arguments.
Although I couldn’t communicate with you in person, I think it is still necessary to tell you through the Email about what has happened. In our current system, all trainees who are still on their probation period need to be estimated at the end of the month to see whether they are eligible for their position or not. Apart from their professional qualifications, the standards also include their team spirit, service awareness, working responsibility as well as the ability of learning.
According to the observation to Ms. Xu during the past month, 30 points need to be deducted from her overall merit (60-points is the underline). We’re considering of arranging a new assistant for you because we don’t think Ms. Xu is appropriate for her work. However, before we make any decision, it is extremely important to get your approval. If you don’t approve of our decision and think Ms. Xu still can be in her current position, she is going to be given one more month as the probation period to see whether she will be eligible enough for her job.
Please feel free to tell us your opinion so that we can help you more efficiently.
Best Regards,
Qiqige, Wuyun
---------------------------------
The above is a complaining letter I wrote for my former colleague, who is working now in a foreign company. Everyone seem to have started a new life since they left Eguo.com. Some of them bought new apartments, some got married, some found or lost their loved one. Anyway, everyone is looking forward to good oppertunities.
Thinking about what had happend to me, it's just like a dream. One year before, two years before, I was just expecting to find a nice person to spend the rest of my life with him. Fortunately, I found that guy, well, at least from my point of view, although my father didn't approve of our marriage. Yesterday, my husband sent my immigration appliction through canada post to the immigration authority. Now we have to wait about 3-6 months to get the final decision.
Maybe I should find a job to kill time. But I'm not that kind of person. Once I take a job offer, I take it very seriously and can't let it go easy. So how can I find a job just to kill my time. Time is not for kill, it's for us to plan our future, to do something wonderful, to be spent with someone you really care. Don't take time for granted. So I work hard to improve my English. I want to go to universtity when I arrive in Vancouver. Amos also thinks so.
I was going to go shopping which was stopped by an unexpected rain. I saw the lightning and heared the thunder and gave up my former plan. Now, I'm sitting here and writing my dialogue. Let's just wait and see how things go...
8/09/2007
The Damn Signature
As I said in my last blog yesterday, all application forms of our immigration were almost done. Today, however, I've found that there was some problems about the signature. I think it's quite understandable that a person who has a first language other than English feels so confused whether to sign name in his own language or in English or just in Pinyin.
I asked several people this question and got different answers, which made me more puzzled. Now I think this kind of problems is even sort of ridiculous. What's the big deal. I didn't do anything bad; I didn't cheat; I've been working on this process for almost two month already. You didn't say in which version I should sign my signature in your instruction. It won't be my fault if you embassy think I don't fill the forms correctly. The only thing that I want to do is to see my husband, who has been split with me for nearly half a year, as soon as possible. Is it really that difficult?
All these mistakes make me feel depressed. Or maybe it's not that complicated, it's just some people make it look like a difficult thing. I think I'm just too worried to calm down. Anyway, hope everything could go well and I could see my husband in less than three months.
I asked several people this question and got different answers, which made me more puzzled. Now I think this kind of problems is even sort of ridiculous. What's the big deal. I didn't do anything bad; I didn't cheat; I've been working on this process for almost two month already. You didn't say in which version I should sign my signature in your instruction. It won't be my fault if you embassy think I don't fill the forms correctly. The only thing that I want to do is to see my husband, who has been split with me for nearly half a year, as soon as possible. Is it really that difficult?
All these mistakes make me feel depressed. Or maybe it's not that complicated, it's just some people make it look like a difficult thing. I think I'm just too worried to calm down. Anyway, hope everything could go well and I could see my husband in less than three months.
8/07/2007
Immigration Forms are almost done
I haven't written anything since my last article, for Amos has got promoted on 1st July 2007, which meant that we've got to start our immigration process. I read the instructions provided by the Canadian embassy and got to know that we had to provide enough envidence, such as our MSN chat history, our photoes together, the emails we sent to each other during the past year and other receipts or airtickets, to prove that our marrige was genuine and truthful.
I spent almost two months to collect all these envidences and put them together and in order. This process of preparing immigartion materials was too painful and time-consuming and boring for me to finish all of them by myself. However, I had to do so because Amos was busy with his work and didn't have enough time to do this. What's more, I think men are more careless than women. What makes me think of this process is that I almost lost all my desires for everything in the world. I didn't want to eat, I didn't want to go to Wall Street English, I didn't want to work out, I even didn't want to talk to anyone.Fortunately, all this boring stuff came to an end and Amos will send all our profiles to the Embassy by this Friday. Then the only thing we need to do is going to be waiting, endless waiting.
After sending all my materials to Amos through Fedex and DHL, I started to work out as I used to do. Pilates and Yoga really helped me a lot. Only that time, I felt nothing but peace and happiness and I knew that I needed to relax. Besides, they ease the pain in my back and neck.
OK, that's all for what had happend to me during the past month. From now on, I'll still post something here to tell you about my daily life.
I spent almost two months to collect all these envidences and put them together and in order. This process of preparing immigartion materials was too painful and time-consuming and boring for me to finish all of them by myself. However, I had to do so because Amos was busy with his work and didn't have enough time to do this. What's more, I think men are more careless than women. What makes me think of this process is that I almost lost all my desires for everything in the world. I didn't want to eat, I didn't want to go to Wall Street English, I didn't want to work out, I even didn't want to talk to anyone.Fortunately, all this boring stuff came to an end and Amos will send all our profiles to the Embassy by this Friday. Then the only thing we need to do is going to be waiting, endless waiting.
After sending all my materials to Amos through Fedex and DHL, I started to work out as I used to do. Pilates and Yoga really helped me a lot. Only that time, I felt nothing but peace and happiness and I knew that I needed to relax. Besides, they ease the pain in my back and neck.
OK, that's all for what had happend to me during the past month. From now on, I'll still post something here to tell you about my daily life.
7/12/2007
Life is just like a glass of water
Nothing new with me today. I was exhausted by making 200 dumplins from 18:30 to 02:00 yesterday, which made me stupid. When I finished the work, my right hand nearly got cramped. Besides, the worst thing was that I didn't feel like eating any of them at all after such a long cooking process. I split them into two parts and gave them to my parents (PS: They got divorced, or else you won't be able to understand why I did that).
My toefl course is still on its track. There are so many strange words which I have to remember that I just wanna kill myself. What I can do now is studying harder and harder until I'm good and strong enough for the exam.
The other task for me is that I need to edit all the chatting history between me and Amos. I've got to send all the immigration materials to him through Fedex by this weekend. We've been chatting for more than one year already, for we can't see each other very often due to the area restriction. Can't you believe that, chatting history of one year, how can I finish that in just 2 days.
Gosh...
My toefl course is still on its track. There are so many strange words which I have to remember that I just wanna kill myself. What I can do now is studying harder and harder until I'm good and strong enough for the exam.
The other task for me is that I need to edit all the chatting history between me and Amos. I've got to send all the immigration materials to him through Fedex by this weekend. We've been chatting for more than one year already, for we can't see each other very often due to the area restriction. Can't you believe that, chatting history of one year, how can I finish that in just 2 days.
Gosh...
7/09/2007
Delicious Egg Salad
I like cooking, although I'm not good at it. And a few days ago, I bought a recipe and found out this delicious egg salad.It's easy to cook, even for the beginners like me. Here are the steps:
Materials:
Eggs 4, Apple 1, canned grain corn, carrot 1, potato 1
Sauces:
egg mayonnaise, white pepper, evaporated milk
Steps:
(1) Boil the eggs and shell them, then split every egg into two parts, if you're on a diet, you can also take out the yolks;
(2) Cut the potato, carrot and apple into cutlets. And you need to steam the potato;(3) Put the potato, carrot, apple cutlets and grain corn together (PS: don't add potato until it cools), then add egg mayonnaise, evaporated milk and also white pepper, stir all the materials well;
(4) Put the lettuce onto the plate, fill in eggs with the stired materials in step (3);
Then you can enjoy your delicous egg salad.
For Chinese version, cilck the link belowing:
http://www.sarvoo.com/u/Vivian/archives/2007/165.html
7/08/2007
Biography of Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress and former fashion model. She is perhaps best known for her roles in blockbuster movies such as The Mask, There's Something About Mary, My Best Friend's Wedding, Charlie's Angels, Shrek, Gangs of New York, The Sweetest Thing, and In Her Shoes. Diaz was the second of four actresses (the others being Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, and Reese Witherspoon) to join the coveted "$20 Million Club" after receiving this salary for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.Early life
Diaz was born in San Diego, California to Emilio Diaz, who worked as a foreman for an oil company, and Billie (née Early), an import-export agent. Diaz's father is a second-generation Cuban-American and her mother has Native American, English and German ancestry. Diaz attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School at the same time as rapper Snoop Dogg. During her school days, she was called Skeletor by her classmates because she was so thin.
Career
At age seventeen, she began her career as a fashion model. Diaz signed with top modeling agency, Elite Model Management. After graduating from high school, she went to work in Japan and met video director Carlo de la Torre. On her return to America, she moved in with him. For the next few years, her modeling took her around the world, working for contracts with major companies. She modelled for designers such as Calvin Klein and Levi's. She also graced the cover of the July 1990 issue of Seventeen magazines.
At the age of 21, Diaz auditioned for the Jim Carrey film The Mask. Even though she had no previous acting experience, she was cast as the female lead. She signed up for acting lessons right after getting the part. Over the next three years, she won roles in low-budget, independent films, such as The Last Supper, Feeling Minnesota, and She's The One. She then regained mainstream success with her roles in My Best Friend's Wedding and There's Something About Mary. She won critical acclaim for her performance in Being John Malkovich, which earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA Awards and the SAG Awards.
Cameron Diaz with Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese at the 2002 Cannes Film FestivalDuring the 1999-2000 period, Diaz starred in many films, such as Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, A Life Less Ordinary, Any Given Sunday, and the hit adaptation of Charlie's Angels. In 2001, she won nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards and the AFI Awards for Vanilla Sky, and also voiced Princess Fiona in Shrek, for which she earned $10 million. In 2003, Diaz received another Golden Globe nomination for Martin Scorsese's epic Gangs of New York, and became the second actress (after Wedding costar Julia Roberts) to earn $20 million for a role, receiving the sum for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. After Full Throttle, Diaz only appeared in three films, Shrek 2, In Her Shoes and The Holiday . During 2004 and early 2005, Diaz explored some of the environmentally unique locations on the planet while discovering ways to help preserve them for the 10-episode MTV series Trippin' which featured numerous celebrities and friends of Diaz, such as Jessica Alba, Drew Barrymore, Mark Hoppus, Eva Mendes and Justin Timberlake.
Future work for Diaz includes a role in Shrek the Third in 2007, where she co-stars with former boyfriend Justin Timberlake. She was set to team up again with The Mask co-star Jim Carrey in the film Fun with Dick and Jane, but she dropped out to star in In Her Shoes. She was recently set to star opposite Carrey again in A Little Game Without Consequence that was planned to start filming in October for a summer release date. The film was shelved and filming is still yet to commence. She will also appear in Shrek 4. She will also star in The Box, a horror thriller which is due to start filming in November 2007.
July 7, 2007, Diaz participated at Live Earth in New York by introducing The Police.
Relationships
Diaz dated actor Matt Dillon from 1995 to 1998. She is also the ex-fiancée of actor, musician, and guitarist Jared Leto from 30 Seconds to Mars. They had a low-profile relationship from 1998 to 2002. There had been reports that Leto had broken up with Diaz because of he was jealous of her increasing acting popularity. Other reports have said that they broke up because Diaz was concentrating more on her acting as Leto was more concerned about his band.
Most recently, Diaz dated singer and former *NSYNC member Justin Timberlake, whom she met at the Kids' Choice Awards in 2003. After nearly four years together, the pair issued a joint statement on January 11, 2007, announcing they had broken up, following weeks of break-up rumors.
In October 2004, Diaz and Timberlake were in an altercation with a tabloid photographer outside a hotel. When the photographer and another man tried to photograph them, the couple snatched the camera. Pictures of the incident appeared in US Weekly. Representatives for the pair claimed that they were "ambushed" and acting out of self-defense.
Diaz and Timberlake were involved in another paparazzi incident while walking out of a friend's house. The paparazzi jumped out of bushes and photographed them. He then entered his car and allegedly drove it towards Diaz, who had to jump out of the way. Diaz pressed charges against the paparazzi, whose agency supported his actions as legal and safe.
Personal life 
Diaz has publicly admitted she is deeply germophobic and habitually rubs doorknobs so hard before opening doors to clean them that the original paint fades afterwards. Along with her floors, she says, she washes her hands "many times" each day and uses her elbows to push open doors. "I'm not scared of germs. I'm just aware of them...I'm not into other people's fluids unless I know them really well." Years later, Diaz perhaps modified her fears somewhat when she said "I think I've made my peace with it."
Diaz received "substantial" libel damages from suing American Media Incoporated, after The National Enquirer had claimed she was cheating on then-boyfriend Timberlake.
Diaz supports the West London football club Brentford FC after visiting a Hollywood cafe owned by a Brentford supporter.
Diaz has been vocal in her opposition to U.S. President George W. Bush. Before 2000's election (on October 26 to be exact), Diaz (along with her Charlie's Angels co-stars, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu) wore a shirt that said "I WON'T VOTE FOR A SON OF A BUSH!" while promoting Charlie's Angels on MTV's Total Request Live. During an Oprah appearance before 2004's election, Diaz said.
“ Women have so much to lose... I mean, we could lose the right to our bodies. If you think rape should be legal then don't vote. But if you think you have a right to your body and you have a right to say what happens to you and fight off that danger of losing that, then you should vote. ”
When Diaz was asked if she can speak Spanish she said
“ I know what you're saying, I really do. I just cannot respond to you back in Spanish. I can barely speak English properly. I didn't grow up in a Cuban or Latin community. I grew up in Southern California on the beach, basically. And I'm third generation. I'm of Cuban descent, but I'm American. ”
During a generally very well received visit to Peru in June 2007, Diaz was photographed using a green handbag with a red star and a Maoist political slogan ("Serve the People" - printed in Chinese) that the non-Peruvian media alleged evoked painful memories. Diaz was unaware that the country was involved with a bloody conflict with the brutal Peruvian maoist guerilla Sendero Luminoso from 1980 until Abimael Guzmán's arrest in 1992. Diaz since apologized by the statement:
“ I'm sorry for any people's pain and suffering and it was certainly never my intention to reopen what I now know is a painful wound in this country's history. ”
7/06/2007
Jennifer Aniston - Derailed (How Could this happen to me)
How could this happen to me...That's a great clip...
The Immigration Process
Amos got his employment statment yesterday, which means we can start the immigration process. I was told to get all materials ready and send them to Vancouver in one week. I had already got my notarized certificate of birth, police certificate of clearance and also cetificate of my education. There was just one thing left-- my household register that Amos had forgotten to tell me before.
I hurried to Beijing Notary Office yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, when I talked to the notary, the water pipes in the basement was broken by someone and the electric power was cut off to protect the office facilities. I couldn't believe that all these unexpectedly happened to me. The notary was kind and she told me that we could continue the process and I could pay next time when I came to fetch the notarized certificate. Anyway, I can get the notarized certificate of my household register by next Wednesday.
In order that the proof can be persuasive, I also need to provide the air tickets when we travelled together, our photos, Emails, letters. This is not a big problem except one thing. I couldn't find the air tickets when I flew to Chengdu with Amos for our honeymoon, which, by the way, I asked the Ctrip.com to mail us an original order. Ctrip.com was efficient and I got the copy of the order within 24 hours.
There're still a lot of things need to be prepared. I still have six days to finish all of them. Okay, let's just wait and see how it goes.
I hurried to Beijing Notary Office yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, when I talked to the notary, the water pipes in the basement was broken by someone and the electric power was cut off to protect the office facilities. I couldn't believe that all these unexpectedly happened to me. The notary was kind and she told me that we could continue the process and I could pay next time when I came to fetch the notarized certificate. Anyway, I can get the notarized certificate of my household register by next Wednesday.
In order that the proof can be persuasive, I also need to provide the air tickets when we travelled together, our photos, Emails, letters. This is not a big problem except one thing. I couldn't find the air tickets when I flew to Chengdu with Amos for our honeymoon, which, by the way, I asked the Ctrip.com to mail us an original order. Ctrip.com was efficient and I got the copy of the order within 24 hours.
There're still a lot of things need to be prepared. I still have six days to finish all of them. Okay, let's just wait and see how it goes.
7/04/2007
Sleepless Night Suffering From Insomnia
I must have slept too much, which made me suffer from insomnia at night. Yesterday when I got up, I got a little bit headache which was caused by sitting in front of computer for such a long time. This happens a lot, it'll probably happen once a month. Things were worse before when I was still working at that damn E-commerce online shop. It averaged me 10 days to get a severe headache. And the pain was so strong that I had to throw up or take medicine every time when it came. I took a tablet which seemed to have stoped the pain, which must contain mild narcotic so that I fell asleep at once after taking the pill.
For I still have classes at Wall Street English in the evening, I set alarm beforehand. I woke up one hour later and headed for Wall Street Institute. Wall Street Institute was as busy as usual and there were English Corners, Encounters, Social Clubs and also Complementary Classes. I had an Encounter and a Social Club. Becky, who was the teacher of the encounter of Unit 34, said that I spoke English very fluently, which meant I could go to Threshold Levels directly. What she had said made me very happy, although I've decided to study step by step. Well, I can go to study T level, which is a good sign. That means that I'm making progress.
When I got home, it was already 9:40pm. I fed my dog and studied English as usual. It's already 4:40 in the morning and I still don't feel sleepy. And I guess I'm certainly going to be tired during the daytime.
For I still have classes at Wall Street English in the evening, I set alarm beforehand. I woke up one hour later and headed for Wall Street Institute. Wall Street Institute was as busy as usual and there were English Corners, Encounters, Social Clubs and also Complementary Classes. I had an Encounter and a Social Club. Becky, who was the teacher of the encounter of Unit 34, said that I spoke English very fluently, which meant I could go to Threshold Levels directly. What she had said made me very happy, although I've decided to study step by step. Well, I can go to study T level, which is a good sign. That means that I'm making progress.
When I got home, it was already 9:40pm. I fed my dog and studied English as usual. It's already 4:40 in the morning and I still don't feel sleepy. And I guess I'm certainly going to be tired during the daytime.
Jennifer Aniston Take All It Off
Jennifer Aniston is one of my favorite actresses. She's got excellent feature.
Brad Pitt's Personal Life
Marriage to Jennifer AnistonPitt dated actress Gwyneth Paltrow during the 1990s. He met Friends actress Jennifer Aniston in 1998 and married her at an enclosed wedding ceremony in Malibu on July 29, 2000. The couple were adamant that the ceremony would be a private affair and hired hundreds of guards to block out any attempts of invasion by the paparazzi. Only one media picture was ever released of the wedding. Not long after the wedding, Pitt sued Damiani International, the company which made the wedding ring he gave Jennifer Aniston, for selling replica "Brad and Jennifer" rings. According to Pitt, the ring was his design and was to be exclusive. Under the settlement reached in January 2002, Pitt will design jewelry for Damiani that Aniston will model in ads, and the company will stop selling the copies.
Their separation was announced on January 7, 2005. Aniston filed for a divorce on March 25 the same year. The divorce was finalized on October 2, 2005. The troubled marriage inspired Brad Pitt to cooperate with Steven Klein for a photoshoot entitled "Domestic Bliss" for the July 2005 edition of W magazine. The spread showed Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a 1963 married couple with children who were experiencing differences in an era where he believed the importance of maintaining a "facade" was becoming complicated.
Relationship with Angelina Jolie
After the end of his marriage to Jennifer Aniston, he and Angelina Jolie were involved in a well-publicized Hollywood scandal in which she was the "other woman" who caused the divorce of actors Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. They both deny that it happened during the filming of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. In an interview with Ann Curry in June 2005, Angelina Jolie explained:"To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive. I could not look at myself in the morning if I did that. I wouldn't be attracted to a man who would cheat on his wife." While Jolie and Pitt never publicly commented about the nature of their relationship, speculations continued throughout 2005. The first intimate paparazzi photos emerged 9 April 05 (and were reported to have cost $500,000), one month after Aniston had filed for divorce. They show Pitt, Jolie and her son Maddox at a beach in Kenya. During the summer Jolie and Pitt were seen together with increasing frequency and most of the entertainment media considered them a couple, dubbing them "Brangelina". Two months later Brad and Angelina posed as a married couple for the July 2005 W magazine.
Pitt grew close to Jolie during the filming of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. In July 2005 he accompanied Jolie to Ethiopia, where Jolie adopted a six-month-old girl; later Jolie indicated that she and Pitt made the decision to adopt Zahara together. In December 2005 it was confirmed that Pitt was seeking to legally adopt Jolie's two children as his (as part of legal requirements), classified advertisements in the Los Angeles paper Daily Commerce announcing the name change request. On January 19, 2006, a judge in California approved this request. The children's legal surnames were formally changed to "Jolie-Pitt".
On January 11, 2006 Jolie confirmed to People magazine that she was pregnant with Pitt's child and thereby confirmed their relationship for the first time in public. On May 27, 2006, Jolie gave birth to a daughter named Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, at night at the Cottage Medi-Clinic Hospital in Swakopmund, Namibia. Shiloh was born by a scheduled cesarean section, due to breech presentation, and Pitt was there to cut her umbilical cord. The couple's Los Angeles obstetrician was assisted by local staff. Shiloh, according to a long-standing translation from the Bible, has come to mean "the peaceful one", and is in actuality a masculine noun.
Pitt confirmed that their newborn daughter will have a Namibian passport while speaking to local journalists. Jolie decided to offer the first pictures of Shiloh through the distributor Getty Images herself, rather than allowing paparazzi to make these extremely valuable snapshots. People paid more than $4.1 million for the North American rights, while British magazine Hello! obtained the international rights for roughly $3.5 million; the total rights sale earned up to $10 million worldwide – the most expensive celebrity image of all time. All profits were donated to an undisclosed charity by Jolie and Pitt. On July 26, 2006 Madame Tussauds in New York unveiled a wax figure of two-month-old Shiloh; it is the first infant re-created in wax by Madame Tussauds. In an August 2006 survey, 41 percent of the participating 18- to 24-year-old American adults correctly identified that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie named their baby Shiloh.
The Jolie-Pitt children
Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt (originally Maddox Chivan Thornton Jolie) adopted at 7 months old on 10 March 2002. He was born on August 5, 2001 as Rath Vibol in Cambodia and he initially lived in a local orphanage in Battambang. Maddox's name is Celtic in origin, usually translated as "beneficent." His middle name is Khmer for "life" and is borne by a member of the Cambodian royal family, Prince Sisowath Chivan Monirak. Jolie calls him "Mad". Maddox has gained a considerable celebrity and appears regularly in the tabloid media; he was named the "cutest celebrity kid" and he is known for this Mohawk hairstyle.
Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt was born on November 29, 2003 as Pham Quang Sang. On March 2, 2007, Vu Duc Long (head of Vietnam's international adoption department) confirmed that Jolie has filed papers to adopt a child from Vietnam. The adoption process is expected to "take a few months". On March 16, 2007, Jolie went to Vietnam (with Maddox) to get her new son. Since the Vietnam orphanage does not allow non married couples to adopt, Jolie adopted as a single parent.
Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt (originally Zahara Marley Jolie), adopted at 6 months old on 6 July 2005. She was born on January 8, 2005 as Tena Adam (her mother died from AIDS. Zahara does not have AIDS. Zahara's birth father is not known.) and adopted on 6 July 2005 from the Wide Horizons For Children orphanage in Addis Ababa. Shortly after they returned to the United States, Zahara had to spend time in a hospital for salmonella intestinal infection as well as dehydration and malnutrition. Jolie stated that "she was six months and not nine pounds. Her skin, you could squeeze it, it stuck together". Zahara's name means "flower" in Swahili; middle name "Marley" is from late Jamaican reggae superstar Bob Marley. Zahara's nickname is "Zee".
Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt was born at night (Namibian local time) on May 27, 2006 at Cottage Medi-Clinic Hospital in Swakopmund, Namibia. Shiloh was born by a scheduled cesarean section, due to breech presentation, and Pitt was there to cut her umbilical cord. The couple's Los Angeles obstetrician, Jason Rothbart, M.D., was assisted by local staff. Shiloh, according to a long-standing translation from the Bible, has come to mean "the peaceful one"; middle name Nouvel is named after Jean Nouvel, one of Pitt's favourite architects. The family divides their time between Los Angeles, California and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Life in New Orleans
In an interview with the Times-Picayune, while filming The curious case of Benjamin Button, Pitt said "I can't describe why we're allowed to live a more normal life (in New Orleans)". He went on to say "Living in the French Quarter is a thrill for us," he said. "We have some semblance of real family life. People have been very, very gracious with us. If we're on the front deck, people go by and say, 'Hi.' Then they go on their way, very friendly."
In popular culture
In 1995, Pitt was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 25 sexiest stars in film history. Pitt has also twice been named the Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine.
Pitt is also prominently featured in the December 2006 Art Issue of Vanity Fair. Pitt appears on the cover in nothing but a pair of white boxers. The cover promotes an article on the Robert Wilson video portraits, a production of LAB HD that includes numerous celebrities and noted personalities. This cover has drawn criticism from Pitt because although he had signed a release for the image, he did not expect it to end up on the cover of Vanity Fair more than a year later. The video portrait, which represents Pitt’s first effort in avant-garde cinema, was exhibited at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival.
In May 2007, Pitt was spotted with a tattoo on his inner left forearm: the outline of Otzi the Iceman, who was found in an Italian glacier in 1991. Experts say that Otzi's (or Oetzi) historic body, Europe's oldest natural human mummy, was preserved in the ice in around 3300 BC.[36]
Biography of Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He became known during the mid 1990s, after starring roles in several major Hollywood films, including Interview with the Vampire in 1994 and the thriller Se7en in 1995. Pitt has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won a Golden Globe Award, both for his role in Twelve Monkeys (1996).Pitt is repeatedly named as one of the most attractive men alive by magazines and his marriage to Jennifer Aniston and current relationship with Angelina Jolie is widely covered in the world media.
Early life
Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma to Jane Etta Hillhouse (high school counselor) and William Alvin Pitt (truck company owner). He and his two siblings, Doug Pitt and Julie Neal Pitt[1], grew up in Springfield, Missouri, where the family moved soon after his birth. Pitt's parents and siblings still live near Springfield.
His fourth cousin is author R J Hillhouse.
Pitt was raised as Baptist by religion and is of English ancestry.[citation needed] At Kickapoo High School, he was involved in sports, debating, student government, and acting. He attended the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri - Columbia where he became a member of The Sigma Chi fraternity.
Acting career
In 1987, he arrived in Beverly Hills, California. Pitt studied under coach Roy London for six years. He first appeared in the sitcom Head Of The Class, for a while dating the show's star Robin Givens. He also guest starred in two episodes of Growing Pains. Pitt appeared as Chris in the long-running soap Another World. While auditioning for the show Our House, he was asked to read for another part, and found himself playing Shalane McCall's boyfriend Charles in Dallas. He also had a number of roles in prime time series such as thirtysomething, 21 Jump Street, and Freddy's Nightmares. Pitt appeared uncredited in both Less Than Zero and Charlie Sheen's No Man's Land before appearing in Cutting Class, about a maniac stalking cheerleaders. He began dating co-star Jill Schoelen.
In 1988, Pitt had his first starring role, in Dark Side Of The Sun, where he played a young American taken by his family to the Adriatic to find a remedy for a skin condition. The movie was shot in Yugoslavia in the summer of '88 with Brad being paid $1,523 a week for seven weeks. However, with editing nearly complete, war broke out and much of the film was lost. The film was released years later. Pitt won a part in the TV movie Too Young to Die?, about an abused teenager given the death penalty for murder. Pitt played the part of a drug addict, Silly Canton, who took advantage of runaway Juliette Lewis, who Pitt began dating in real life. "It was quite romantic", he later observed dryly "shooting her full of drugs and stuff". The pair would be together for three years.
1991–1993
In 1991, Pitt starred as Joe Maloney in Across the Tracks in which he portrayed a high school runner with a difficult criminal brother played by Ricky Schroder. Pitt attracted broader public attention from a supporting role in Thelma & Louise where he played a small time criminal drifter in a love scene with Geena Davis.
After Thelma and Louise, Pitt starred in the low budget 1991 film Johnny Suede as an awkward dreamer who aspired to be a big-haired rock star alongside Catherine Keener and Nick Cave, directed by Tom DiCillo. Pitt had agreed to play the part before Thelma & Louise was released. After appearing in Cool World, Pitt starred in Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It in 1992, for which Pitt learned fly fishing by casting off of Hollywood buildings. Then came Kalifornia in 1993, a road movie in which he played a scruffy serial killer alongside his then girlfriend Juliette Lewis and X-Files actor David Duchovny.
1994–2000
In 1994, Pitt played vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac in the movie adaptation of Anne Rice's novel Interview With The Vampire. Pitt played the eighteenth century vampire which required several hours work in make-up on set to achieve the white skin of the character and he had to wear a pair of luminous green eyes, vampire fangs and a shoulder-length hairpiece to complete the appearance. Pitt worked with the eleven-year-old Kirsten Dunst, as well as Tom Cruise, Christian Slater and Antonio Banderas. He then starred in Legends of the Fall and Se7en. In Se7en Pitt starred as the police detective David Mills alongside Morgan Freeman in the hunt for a serial killer played by Kevin Spacey.
Pitt was then nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Jeffrey Goines in the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys in which he acted alongside Bruce Willis. In 1997 Pitt played the IRA terrorist Rory Devany in The Devil's Own alongside Harrison Ford, the first of several films where he has acted using an Irish accent. Reportedly Pitt had a difficult time with the making of the film and expressed his unhappiness with the final script which had apparently been rewritten seven times.
That same year he played the main role of Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in the Jean 
Jacques Annaud film Seven Years in Tibet. Pitt trained for months for the role which demanded a great deal of trekking and mountain climbing, working out with co-star English actor David Thewlis by rock climbing in California and the Alps. Due to the themes of Tibetan nationalism in the film, the Chinese government banned Pitt and Thewlis from China for life. In 1998, Pitt starred as the main character in the film Meet Joe Black. Pitt starred as a personification of Death inhabiting the body of a young man in order to learn what it is like to be human while informing a billionaire tycoon that his life on Earth is nearly over. The film gave Pitt another chance to work alongside Welsh actor Sir Anthony Hopkins whom he had previously worked with in Legends of the Fall.
In 1999 Brad Pitt starred in Fight Club, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk. Working with his previous director whom he had worked with on Se7en Pitt portrayed the character of Tyler Durden, a highly colorful and complex character.
In 2000 Pitt played the role of Mickey, a gypsy Irish boxer in the gangster movie Snatch alongside Vinnie Jones and Benicio Del Toro. The film was a wild caper involving a diamond heist, Russian and American mafia and the shady underground world , that saw Pitt brought in as a ringer by two failing promoters. The movie saw him moving on from his attempt at the conventional Devil's Own Northern Irish accent, and perhaps inspired by his co-star Benicio Del Toro's recent performance in The Usual Suspects, Pitt created a just-barely-intelligible accent suggesting the Irish Gypsies, referred to as Pikeys in the movie. Pitt continued to train for the role, and honed his boxing skills at Ricky English's gym in Watford.
2001–2007
After his wedding to Friends actress Jennifer Aniston on July 29, 2000, he immediately began filming for Spy Game, a Cold War thriller in which he starred alongside veteran actor Robert Redford playing the role of his mentor. In 2001 Brad Pitt worked with long-term friend and actress Julia Roberts in the comical road movie The Mexican. At the end of the year, Pitt finished filming Ocean's Eleven with George Clooney and Matt Damon, a remake of the 1960s version which starred Frank Sinatra. The film established a close friendship between the three, particularly between Pitt and Clooney.
Brad Pitt at the Incirlik hospital, Incirlik Air BaseSince then, he has starred in numerous films, including Ocean's Twelve and the epic Troy, based on the Iliad, in which he portrayed the legendary hero Achilles. Ironically, during the production of Troy, Pitt tore his Achilles tendon, delaying production for several weeks. In 2005, Pitt starred in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, in which he and Angelina Jolie played husband and wife assassins.
In March 2006, it was announced that Paramount had purchased the rights to The Sparrow for Pitt's production company, Plan B, and that Pitt would be playing the lead role of Sandoz. In June 2006 it was announced that Paramount and Plan B will be working on a new zombie film called World War Z, based on the book of the same name by Max Brooks.
Pitt made his return to Hollywood in late 2006, with Alejandro González Iñárritu's critically acclaimed Babel, starring alongside Cate Blanchett. The movie garnered a total of seven Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, one of which was a Golden Globe nomination for Pitt as Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. The movie has since become Pitt's highest grossing drama.
In 2007, Pitt was listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World.
Other work
Pitt has appeared in television commercials in Asia, such as for Edwin Jeans, the Toyota Altis, and Japanese canned coffee, ROOTS. He also appeared in a Heineken commercial which aired during the 2005 Super Bowl. It was directed by David Fincher, who directed Pitt in the feature films Se7en and Fight Club. Together with Aniston and Paramount Pictures head Brad Grey, Pitt is the co-founder of the production company 'Plan B'. Aniston is no longer a partner in the company, although she is still attached to many projects that were set up before her divorce with Pitt. The company produced the blockbuster Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Johnny Depp.
He has also had a cameo appearance in season 8 of Friends and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, in which he took part in a staged abduction of himself. In a later episode, he and some cast-members run wild through the streets of Los Angeles in gorilla suits.
Pitt has been an active supporter of research into diseases such as AIDS.
Pitt is behind Not On Our Watch, an organization that focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities such as in Darfur, along with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Jerry Weintraub.
7/03/2007
Beautiful Sexy Turkish Belly Dance
I've posted one video of this girl dancing a few days ago. And here is another one. Enjoy...
Nurse survives window blowout in air ambulance at 20,000 feet
From www.cnn.com
SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- A critical-care nurse aboard an air ambulance fought to keep from being sucked out of the cabin when a window blew out of the aircraft at 20,000 feet.
"I guess it wasn't my day to die," said Chris Fogg, who lives near Boise, Idaho, and was flying with a patient and the pilot last Wednesday from Twin Falls, Idaho, to Seattle. "For anyone else, I think he would have been sucked completely out, but for some reason I was spared, and I don't know why."
Fogg's head and right arm were pulled outside the window, and he suffered cuts to his head. Some equipment, charts, his eye glasses and packages went flying out of the cabin.
The rapid decompression occurred when Fogg was unbuckled from his seat and reaching for a water bottle.
Fogg, 41, is 6 feet tall and weighs 220 pounds. He said his size may have helped him avoid being sucked out of the twin-engine turboprop plane.
"My left hand was on the ceiling and was holding me in, and my knees were up against the wall," Fogg told The Seattle Times in a story published Monday. He said he pushed as hard as he could and got enough air between his chest and the window to break the suction and pull himself back inside the aircraft.
"I have a vivid picture of looking at the tail of the plane and seeing my headset dangling out of the plane," Fogg said.
He fell back into his seat, and grabbed one of the patient's pillows to stop the blood pouring from his head. He said the pilot knew the cabin had decompressed but was not aware of the broken window, so he put the airplane into a dive to a safe altitude of 10,000 feet.
"I kept saying, 'Don't pass out, don't pass out, I have a patient on board and I have to take care of the patient,"' he told the newspaper.
Fogg said the patient, who saw the whole thing, was not in danger because he was on oxygen. The man was a Vietnam veteran and told Fogg he had flashbacks of being shot out of the air.
The pilot made an emergency landing in Boise, and Fogg was rushed to the hospital, where he needed 13 stitches in his head.
Fogg has worked for the Ada-Boi air ambulance service for 24 years, which his father owns. The next day he was back at work.
"It was pretty scary, I'll tell you that," Fogg said.
SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- A critical-care nurse aboard an air ambulance fought to keep from being sucked out of the cabin when a window blew out of the aircraft at 20,000 feet.
"I guess it wasn't my day to die," said Chris Fogg, who lives near Boise, Idaho, and was flying with a patient and the pilot last Wednesday from Twin Falls, Idaho, to Seattle. "For anyone else, I think he would have been sucked completely out, but for some reason I was spared, and I don't know why."
Fogg's head and right arm were pulled outside the window, and he suffered cuts to his head. Some equipment, charts, his eye glasses and packages went flying out of the cabin.
The rapid decompression occurred when Fogg was unbuckled from his seat and reaching for a water bottle.
Fogg, 41, is 6 feet tall and weighs 220 pounds. He said his size may have helped him avoid being sucked out of the twin-engine turboprop plane.
"My left hand was on the ceiling and was holding me in, and my knees were up against the wall," Fogg told The Seattle Times in a story published Monday. He said he pushed as hard as he could and got enough air between his chest and the window to break the suction and pull himself back inside the aircraft.
"I have a vivid picture of looking at the tail of the plane and seeing my headset dangling out of the plane," Fogg said.
He fell back into his seat, and grabbed one of the patient's pillows to stop the blood pouring from his head. He said the pilot knew the cabin had decompressed but was not aware of the broken window, so he put the airplane into a dive to a safe altitude of 10,000 feet.
"I kept saying, 'Don't pass out, don't pass out, I have a patient on board and I have to take care of the patient,"' he told the newspaper.
Fogg said the patient, who saw the whole thing, was not in danger because he was on oxygen. The man was a Vietnam veteran and told Fogg he had flashbacks of being shot out of the air.
The pilot made an emergency landing in Boise, and Fogg was rushed to the hospital, where he needed 13 stitches in his head.
Fogg has worked for the Ada-Boi air ambulance service for 24 years, which his father owns. The next day he was back at work.
"It was pretty scary, I'll tell you that," Fogg said.
7/02/2007
Delicious Scrambled Eggs With Tomatoes
Ingrediants:
(1) 4 eggs;
(2) 1 or 2 tomatoes;
(3) 1/3 green onion;
(4) cooking oil;
(5) ginger;
Sauces:
(1) 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoon sugar;
(2) 1/4 teaspoon salt, 4 tablespoon water, 1/2 tablespoon starchy sauce;
Preparation:
(1) In a mixing bowel, beat eggs and bleand it well, then add sauce (1);
(2) Cut the peel of tomato into a cross shape; put 3 bowels of water into the pot, don't add tomato until the water is boiling; after adding tomato, wait for about 2 minutes until the peel splits. Then put the hot tomatoes into cold water and get rid of the peel; cut tomato into small cantlets;
(3) Cut green onion into small cantlets and cuts up ginger very fine;
(4) add 3 tablespoon cooking oil, when the oil becomes hot, pour the egg mixture, quickly fry the egg mixture, dish out the eggs when it's get set;
(5) Then use the other 2 tablespoon to fry the green onion cantlets, ginger, then add tomato cantlets, sauce (2);
(6) Add the fried eggs together with the other materials, dish out them until all the matierials get well blended.
For Chinese version click the link below:
7/01/2007
Big iPhone headache: Waiting for AT&T activation
From: http://news.com.com/
So I admit it: I bought an iPhone.
That was the easy part. I should have realized that if the customer service whizzes at AT&T could find a way to mar what was otherwise a perfectly pleasant experience, they would. After nearly nine hours, AT&T has yet to activate my iPhone, and it can't be used until they get around to it, hopefully sometime before 2008.
Buying the iPhone is easy, but AT&T activation isn't.
(Credit: Declan McCullagh/mccullagh.org)But I'm getting ahead of myself. Earlier on Friday, I had taken photographs of the throngs gathered outside the San Francisco Apple store at 6 p.m., and the far more sedate crowd outside the Market Street AT&T store, and decided not to bother standing in line for an iPhone that evening.
I figured I'd read some more early reviews and then pick one up sometime in the next few days after the lines were shorter. And those reviews were promising, including one that said audio quality was superior. Seeing the iPhone ripped apart was also educational.
Then, around 11:30 p.m., I read our News.com article by my colleagues Tom Krazit and Erica Ogg. They had stayed longer than I did and reported that: "Ninety minutes after Apple started ringing up sales of the iPhone at its 24-hour flagship store on 5th Avenue in New York, anyone could just walk into the store and pick up a device with a minimal wait."
Well, Apple stores were open until midnight, so why not? Around 11:40 p.m., I persuaded my wife to join me in a late-night dash to the Stockton Street store.
Yes, they had iPhones. Yes, the sales staff were exhausted after performing crowd control earlier. Yes, there were still two San Francisco policemen standing guard outside, looking slightly bored by now. But there were only two people in line in front of me, including one desperate fellow who had driven far too fast from Marin County north of San Francisco to make the midnight deadline after finding that an Apple store up there had run out of 8GB models.
So far, so good. When I got home, I plugged the 8 GB iPhone into our media-server iMac and typed my information into iTunes. I received an e-mail message at 12:10 a.m. saying: "AT&T is now processing your activation. You will receive an e-mail confirmation once your activation is complete." I had an existing AT&T account, so I figured that adding the $20/month iPhone wireless plan should take only one or two minutes.
Then I waited. And waited. And waited.
It's now 9:06 a.m., and still no change. Against my better judgment, I even took the God-help-me-now step of phoning AT&T customer support, something you should never do unless you're absolutely desperate and learn that some malcontent is running up calls to Zambia on your mobile account, and probably not even then.
Mary-Kay eventually answered. "Unfortunately, sir, you do have to wait," she wearily replied, presumably sick of having to answer this question once a minute since her shift began. "The iPhone will tell you when it is activated."
How long would this take, I asked. Five days? Two months? "I doubt that," Mary-Kay replied. "Believe you me, you're not the only one in those shoes. They did get jammed up last night. It's first-come first-served."
I began to ask her if my existing AT&T phone would continue to work, but the line seemed to go dead. It could be my sucky VoIP service, or Mary-Kay could have hung up on me. I really wouldn't blame her for iPhone ennui after dealing frustrated my-activation-hasn't-happened-yet customers all day.
Now, I've been a computer programmer longer than I've been a journalist, and I find it hard to imagine any system that should take nearly nine hours to perform a database query, do a credit check, and whatever other black box magic is necessary to make this gadget actually work. It's even less likely that the system should take this long in the middle of the night after the east coast iPhone binge should, in theory, have abated hours earlier. And I'm already an AT&T customer, too.
Any bets on how long it'll take AT&T to activate this guy's iPhone?
(Credit: Declan McCullagh/mccullagh.org)Occam's razor suggests that the more likely explanation is that AT&T has such antiquated computers that some poor saps in another secret AT&T division somewhere in a New Delhi office park are keystroking in my account update by hand. Seriously. We may never know, but it sounds about right.
I'm hardly alone. Some reports indicate AT&T activation is a recurring problem. One local Fox news channel article is titled "iPhone debuts with big headaches." A LiveJournal user entry buttresses my theory by reporting that the AT&T "transfer team" gets in to work at 9 a.m. PDT.
There's speculation that existing AT&T SIM cards may work with the iPhone, but I haven't tried that yet. Some posts in that thread are saying AT&T is telling customers they need to wait for 24 hours because of high volume. Some people are saying that their existing AT&T phones become unusable during the transition, though at least that hasn't happened to me so far.
It's important to stress that the iPhone can't be used for anything useful, not even iPoddish features such as playing music or movies, until activation happens.
The bottom line? Apple did everything it could to ensure that buying and setting up (and presumably using, though I can't attest to that yet) an iPhone is a pleasant experience. It succeeded magnificently.
But its key business partner, AT&T, has failed miserably. Computer companies know how to load-test a server to figure out how it will respond under unusually high demand. Why didn't AT&T do the same for its internal procedures to handle iPhone activation?
Update 2:13 p.m. PT: I received an e-mail message at 12:35 pm PT from the customer-friendly address of do_not_reply@att.com saying: "We are currently processing your order... You will receive an additional e-mail when your order is complete that will provide further instructions to activate your iPhone." Oh, so my order is being processed? Thanks for the informative message. I would never have guessed.
So I admit it: I bought an iPhone.
That was the easy part. I should have realized that if the customer service whizzes at AT&T could find a way to mar what was otherwise a perfectly pleasant experience, they would. After nearly nine hours, AT&T has yet to activate my iPhone, and it can't be used until they get around to it, hopefully sometime before 2008.
Buying the iPhone is easy, but AT&T activation isn't.
(Credit: Declan McCullagh/mccullagh.org)But I'm getting ahead of myself. Earlier on Friday, I had taken photographs of the throngs gathered outside the San Francisco Apple store at 6 p.m., and the far more sedate crowd outside the Market Street AT&T store, and decided not to bother standing in line for an iPhone that evening.
I figured I'd read some more early reviews and then pick one up sometime in the next few days after the lines were shorter. And those reviews were promising, including one that said audio quality was superior. Seeing the iPhone ripped apart was also educational.
Then, around 11:30 p.m., I read our News.com article by my colleagues Tom Krazit and Erica Ogg. They had stayed longer than I did and reported that: "Ninety minutes after Apple started ringing up sales of the iPhone at its 24-hour flagship store on 5th Avenue in New York, anyone could just walk into the store and pick up a device with a minimal wait."
Well, Apple stores were open until midnight, so why not? Around 11:40 p.m., I persuaded my wife to join me in a late-night dash to the Stockton Street store.
Yes, they had iPhones. Yes, the sales staff were exhausted after performing crowd control earlier. Yes, there were still two San Francisco policemen standing guard outside, looking slightly bored by now. But there were only two people in line in front of me, including one desperate fellow who had driven far too fast from Marin County north of San Francisco to make the midnight deadline after finding that an Apple store up there had run out of 8GB models.
So far, so good. When I got home, I plugged the 8 GB iPhone into our media-server iMac and typed my information into iTunes. I received an e-mail message at 12:10 a.m. saying: "AT&T is now processing your activation. You will receive an e-mail confirmation once your activation is complete." I had an existing AT&T account, so I figured that adding the $20/month iPhone wireless plan should take only one or two minutes.
Then I waited. And waited. And waited.
It's now 9:06 a.m., and still no change. Against my better judgment, I even took the God-help-me-now step of phoning AT&T customer support, something you should never do unless you're absolutely desperate and learn that some malcontent is running up calls to Zambia on your mobile account, and probably not even then.
Mary-Kay eventually answered. "Unfortunately, sir, you do have to wait," she wearily replied, presumably sick of having to answer this question once a minute since her shift began. "The iPhone will tell you when it is activated."
How long would this take, I asked. Five days? Two months? "I doubt that," Mary-Kay replied. "Believe you me, you're not the only one in those shoes. They did get jammed up last night. It's first-come first-served."
I began to ask her if my existing AT&T phone would continue to work, but the line seemed to go dead. It could be my sucky VoIP service, or Mary-Kay could have hung up on me. I really wouldn't blame her for iPhone ennui after dealing frustrated my-activation-hasn't-happened-yet customers all day.
Now, I've been a computer programmer longer than I've been a journalist, and I find it hard to imagine any system that should take nearly nine hours to perform a database query, do a credit check, and whatever other black box magic is necessary to make this gadget actually work. It's even less likely that the system should take this long in the middle of the night after the east coast iPhone binge should, in theory, have abated hours earlier. And I'm already an AT&T customer, too.
Any bets on how long it'll take AT&T to activate this guy's iPhone?
(Credit: Declan McCullagh/mccullagh.org)Occam's razor suggests that the more likely explanation is that AT&T has such antiquated computers that some poor saps in another secret AT&T division somewhere in a New Delhi office park are keystroking in my account update by hand. Seriously. We may never know, but it sounds about right.
I'm hardly alone. Some reports indicate AT&T activation is a recurring problem. One local Fox news channel article is titled "iPhone debuts with big headaches." A LiveJournal user entry buttresses my theory by reporting that the AT&T "transfer team" gets in to work at 9 a.m. PDT.
There's speculation that existing AT&T SIM cards may work with the iPhone, but I haven't tried that yet. Some posts in that thread are saying AT&T is telling customers they need to wait for 24 hours because of high volume. Some people are saying that their existing AT&T phones become unusable during the transition, though at least that hasn't happened to me so far.
It's important to stress that the iPhone can't be used for anything useful, not even iPoddish features such as playing music or movies, until activation happens.
The bottom line? Apple did everything it could to ensure that buying and setting up (and presumably using, though I can't attest to that yet) an iPhone is a pleasant experience. It succeeded magnificently.
But its key business partner, AT&T, has failed miserably. Computer companies know how to load-test a server to figure out how it will respond under unusually high demand. Why didn't AT&T do the same for its internal procedures to handle iPhone activation?
Update 2:13 p.m. PT: I received an e-mail message at 12:35 pm PT from the customer-friendly address of do_not_reply@att.com saying: "We are currently processing your order... You will receive an additional e-mail when your order is complete that will provide further instructions to activate your iPhone." Oh, so my order is being processed? Thanks for the informative message. I would never have guessed.
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