好快，已经在新有八年又两天了。

其实想想，我的青春期就在这热带岛国度过了。没有长高长胖，只有变老。呵呵。不过，学会了独立，走过了些许的十字路口。

若问我可曾后悔当初的决定。当年的我其实只是井底之蛙，看到有爬出井外的梯子，便抓住了往上爬。没有想很多，只是偶尔想到要独自一人漂泊他乡，心里怕怕的。但那只是一刹那的念头。后来，不懂人情世故的我，就那样子拖着两个行李，第一次搭飞机，第一次远行。现在，我已习惯了一个人的远行，也已确定了不会再回到当年的井底之蛙。

认识的人不多；交心的知己更少。可是，我的座右铭是：朋友无所谓多少，只要有几个真正能雪中送炭的就满足了。也认识了他，亦是情人亦是朋友；还有疼我的长辈。所以，当我感到沮丧的时候，应该想想知足常乐。

当然，血浓于水。家始终是最温暖的港湾。我永远是父母的小孩。回到家，定会小几岁。

。。。。。。

一旦扭伤了脚，许多人会先用冷敷，以减少伤处的肿胀，很快又改用热敷或用热水来促进伤口的愈合。其实这种做法是错误的。现代医学认为，除非有特殊情况，否则，受伤以后，至少开头的48小时应当用冷敷而不是用加温的办法治疗。

冰的作用是减少通往伤处的血流，使受伤部位的内出血和肿胀情况得到控制，恢复的过程也会加快。为什

么受伤后起初两天不能用热敷呢？因为如果受伤处温度高了，会使流到伤处的血液增加，使伤处肿痛加剧。如伤处有小血管破裂，会增加出血量，使血肿吸收困难，延缓恢复过程。

那么，怎样进行冷敷呢？一般在受伤后头两天，每一至两小时使用冰袋冷敷10至20分钟，冰袋与皮肤之间要用毛巾、绷带之类的东西隔开。

除了冷敷，受伤初期还要做到三点：首先要让伤处休息，不要活动。第二要将伤处适当地包扎起来，这也可以缓解肿胀。第三要把受伤的部位适当抬高，应比心脏部位稍高些，以减少局部血流。当伤处的肿胀得到控制并开始消退时，再进行加温热敷，可以扩张局部血管，促进血肿吸收。

      “如果不是我以为昨天是13号，就不会赶着去交作业，就不会扭到脚，就可以......还可以......”。

      万事皆有因果之连。没有之前的“因”，便不会有之后的“果”。无论你是信佛之士，或是自由信仰人士，“因果”总会发生在你身上。其实无需等到三生六世，今生今世你便可以看到因果。仔细回想，很多小事情都有因果关系的。

      我们平时常说的“若不是......，如果没有......, 就不会......”。这就是我们身边活生生的因果论。佛教说到凡人需忏悔，反思为何会种下“因”而结成“果”。但或像我这种许灵性不高的人，会把“因”归咎为外界的因素，变成是环境造成的“因果”，更甚至怪罪于“霉运”。但其实，“若不是......，如果没有......, 就不会......”所指的是你本身的一时之错种下了因。所以，三思而行。

Fruits and vegetables have much flavor and nutrition. Eating them promotes good health and decreases risk for many chronic diseases, including cancer. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is recommended because they provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and other natural substances, such as antioxidants and phytochemicals, that are important for good health.

Carotenoids are antioxidants. Beta carotene is converted in the body into vitamin A, which is needed for healthy eyes, bones, teeth, skin, mucous membrane tissues and hair.

Try to eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, with at least one serving per day being vitamin A-rich, vitamin C-rich and fiber-rich. In addition, eat several servings per week of cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables.

One way to stretch the value of your food dollar is to buy fresh fruits and vegetables in season. The following information shows an alphabetical listing of fruits and vegetables that are good sources of carotenoids (vitamin A). The "best time to buy" lets you know when to buy those fruits and vegetables for the best quality at their lowest cost.

Fruits and Vegetables that are good sources of Carotenoids (vitamin A):	Best time to Buy
apricots	June, July
avocado	January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, November, December
broccoli	February, March, April, July, August, September, October, November
cantaloupe	June, July, August, September
carrots
elderberries	April, May, June, July, August
greens (beet greens, chickory greens, collards, dandelion greens, kale, lambsquarters, mustard greens, pokeberry shoots, purslane, Swiss chard, turnip greens, watercress)
mango	June, July
nectarines	June, July, August
papaya
pumpkin	October, November
red bell peppers	July, August, September
romaine lettuce
spinach	March, April, May
sweet potato	October, November, December
tomato	May, June, July, August, September
winter squash (acorn, butternut, hubbard)	September, October, November, December

I believe in the 50-percent theory. Half the time things are better than normal; the other half, they are worse. I believe life is a pendulum swing. It takes time and experience to understand what normal is, and that gives me the perspective to deal with the surprises of the future. 
我信奉对半理论。生活时而无比顺畅，时而倒霉透顶，好坏参半。我觉得生活就像来回晃动的钟摆。读懂生活的常态需要时间和阅历，也正是这样才练就了我面对未来荣辱不惊的生活态度。   
    
Let's benchmark the parameters: Yes, I will die. I've dealt with the deaths of both parents, a best friend, a beloved boss and cherished pets. Some of these deaths have been violent, before my eyes, or slow and agonizing. Bad stuff, and it belongs at the bottom of the scale. 
让我们掂量这些点点滴滴：是的，我注定会死去。我已经经历了双亲的仙逝，一位友人的亡故，一位敬爱的老板的离逝，还有心爱宠物的死亡。当中一些变故突如其来，直击眼前；有些却长期折磨，痛苦不堪。糟糕的事儿，它们驻留谷底。   
    
Then there are those high points: romance and marriage to the right person; having a child and doing those Dad things like coaching my son's baseball team, paddling around the creek in the boat while he's swimming with the dogs, discovering his compassion so deep it manifests even in his kindness to snails, his imagination so vivid he builds a spaceship from a scattered pile of Legos.  
当然生活也不乏熠熠光彩：坠入爱河缔结良缘；养育幼子身为人父，训练儿子的棒球队，当他和狗在水中嬉戏时，摇桨划船前瞻后顾，感受他如此强烈的同情心——即使对蜗牛也善待有加，发现他如此活跃的想像力——即使零散的积木也能堆出太空飞船。   
    
But there is a vast meadow of life in the middle, where the bad and the good flip-flop acrobatically. This is what convinces me to believe in the 50-percent theory.  
但在它们发生期间有一片宽广的草坪，在那儿上演的各种好事坏事像耍杂技一样地翻新。这就是让我信服对半理论的原因。   
    
One spring I planted corn too early in a bottomland so flood-prone that neighbors laughed. I felt chagrined at the wasted effort. Summer turned brutal -- the worst heat wave and drought in my lifetime. The air-conditioner died, the well went dry, the marriage ended, the job lost, the money gone. I was living lyrics from a country tune -- music I loathed. Only a surging Kansas City Royals team, bound for their first World Series, buoyed my spirits. 
有一年春天，我在一片容易被淹的低洼地过早地种下了玉米，邻居们都为此嘲笑我。一番心血付之东流让我懊恼不已。接着我生命中最难熬的酷暑来临了——热浪袭人，酿至旱灾。空调失灵，水井枯竭，婚姻破裂，惨遭失业，积蓄挥空。我正经历某个乡村调频描绘的情节，我讨厌这种音乐。只有一支人气攀升的堪萨斯皇家棒球队的小组因他们的第一次出征世界大赛团结起来使我精神振奋。   
    
Looking back on that horrible summer, I soon understood that all succeeding good things merely offset the bad. Worse than normal wouldn't last long. I am owed and savor the halcyon times. They reinvigorate me for the next nasty surprise and offer assurance that I can thrive. The 50 percent theory even helps me see hope beyond my Royals' recent slump, a field of struggling rookies sown so that some year soon we can reap an October harvest. 
回想那个可怕的夏天，我不久就明白了所有的好事坏事不过是正负抵消。不顺心的境遇不会延宕过久。太平时光是我应得的，我要尽情享受。它们给我新的活力以应对突如其来的险境，并确保我再度辉煌。对半理论甚至帮我在我喜爱的皇家棒球队最近的低潮中看到希望——这是一块艰难行进的新手们耕耘的土地，播种了，假以时日我们就可以收获十月的金秋。   
    
Oh, yeah, the corn crop? For that one blistering summer, the ground moisture was just right, planting early allowed pollination before heat withered the tops, and the lack of rain spared the standing corn from floods. That winter my crib overflowed with corn -- fat, healthy three-to-a-stalk ears filled with kernels from heel to tip -- while my neighbors' fields yielded only brown, empty husks.  
哦，对了，玉米收成？就那年炎热的夏天，庄稼地的湿度恰到好处，过早的种植使授粉避开酷热在顶梢干枯前完成，雨水稀少使地里长着的玉米免遭水灾。那年冬天，我的粮仓里堆满了玉米——饱满结实的玉米每株秆上结三个，每个玉米从底到顶端长满了玉米粒——而我的邻居们地里长出来的只是暗沉干瘪的壳。   
    
Although plantings past may have fallen below the 50-percent expectation, and they probably will again in the future, I am still sustained by the crop that flourishes during the drought. 
尽管过去播种的收获没有达到50％的期望，而且将来也可能是这样，我仍然要为经历旱季依然丰收的玉米而坚守阵地。   

Today is 1^st Oct—China’s National Day; Singapore’s Children’s Day; NTU recess last day; a sunny Sunday. So 3 quarters of the year have – gone.

 

Time really flies!

 

Many people want time goes slower, so there is more time to do the work. But it is the case that when you have more work to do, you feel that time goes faster. Those Taitai, who watch Korean drama to 消磨时间, must be thinking that time is going too slowly. So, it is not the problem with time, but it is the problem with people. Time is one of the fairest things in the world. Nobody can steal time; time will not run away. It is like life, it goes on, and will never go back. Perhaps it is this reason that makes scientists doing hard to invent time machines.

 

I am not a taitai. I admire taitai sometimes; but I do not want to be a taitai everyday.