I guess I cannot sustain a 4 hour sleep per night too long. I was exhausted after my Arabic class, so I decided to Uber home. My uber driver happened to be Pakistani, so we exchanged some simple greetings in Arabic before I dozed off. Arabic remains one of the hardest things I ever attempted to learn so far, and I still struggle.
Tag: Language
Language Learning Resources
As I was 9 years old, I told my mom that I wanted to be a linguist. My mum was very surprised at me, for she can only speak Chinese, and has never heard of any occupations related to linguistic. However I do kept my dream of becoming a linguist until high school. Then I found out that linguists are paid less. So I gave up.
I gave up the idea of becoming a linguist as a professional, but not learning foreign languages.
Here are the resources for language learning that I’ve kept in my bookmark lists, with sites I’ve tried or will try in the future. I will keep updating this page with links such as online courses, podcasts and other supplemental materials here. I have started learning Spanish in June 2011, after I received my Japanese N1 Certificate. My ultimate goal in language learning is to be like Steve Kaufmann, http://thelinguist.blogs.com/, or even get beyond him. Continue reading “Language Learning Resources”
101 things in 1001 days / Since March 15, 2009
The mission: to complete these 101 things in 1001 days, counting from March 15 , 2009. The complete items will have a different color and maybe a picture link.
Progress will be tracked monthly, any news on progress will be left in the comments. This list is completed on December 12 , 2011.
Status Report:
FINISHED: 59/94
WORK IN PROGRESS: 7/94
NOT FINISH: 28/94
1. Get my first tattoo Jun 13, 2009
2. Learn CAD
3. Visit North Korea Jul 15, 2010
4. Lose some weight until I’m 108 lbs ( always work in progress : )
5. Learn basic German
6. Read at least 1 book every month ( 33 in total )
- Oedipus the King
- 历史深处的忧虑
- The Thirty-nine steps
- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
- 伊豆的舞女,雪国,古都,千只鹤
- 俗世奇人
- 一只狗的遗嘱
- 生活在别处
- 把时间当作朋友
- 纽约不怀旧
- Animal Farm
- What we talk about when we talk about love
- Code Version 2.0
- In Fact (Creative Nonfiction)
- Writing Down the Bones
- The Making of a Poem
- The Rape of Nanking
- Cathedral
- A Widow for One Year
- Fight Club
- On Chesil Beach
- Will you be quiet, please?
- 挪威的森林
- 日本小史
- Furious Seasons and other stories
- The House of the Spirits
- Raymond Carver: Collected Stories
- 曾国藩 (上中下)
- Intimacy
- Random Family
- The Glass Castle
- The Joy Luck Club
- Interview with the Vampire
- Yung Wing: My Life in China and America
- Tinkers
- Room
- Half Broke Horses
- Herland
- Brave New World
- The Handmaid’s Tale
- Ecotopia
- Bless Me, Ultima
- The Hunger Games
- Nothing to Envy
- The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
- Falling through the earth: A Memoir
- The House on Mango Street
- A Pale View of Hills
- The Sense of an Ending
- Does the 21st Century Belong to China?
- Life of Pi
- The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
- The Design of Everyday Things
7. Donate blood
- Jul 12, 2009
8. Learn some American Sign Language
9. Establish my 1st personal website ( you are reading it now )
- shengkaidehua.com
10. Write a movie script
- 晨昏颠倒 is working in progress
- Children in the dark is working in progress
11. Ambidextrous ( work in progress )
12. Learn to sing as a diva
13. Volunteer work
- Latham Food Bank Aug 27, 2009
- Oakwood Cemetery May 1, 2010
14. Visit Cuba or any other country in the Caribbeans
15. Learn basic Russian
16. Join the Honor IT Society
17. Plant trees
18. Get a scholarship in college
19. Learn to dance ( work in progress )
20. Travel across the USA by car (From Troy NY to San Antonio, TX, March 8 to March 16)
21. Read “Cien años de soledad” (One Hundred Years of Solitude) in Spanish
22. Get an autograph & photo from Tom Cruise
23. Read Ulysses
24. Send postcards to friends whenever I travel
25. Do a co-op or an internship
26. Learn C++
27. Watch 101 movies
- Grand Hotel
- The Short Films of David Lynch
- Diary od a lost girl
- Wallace & Gromit:
- Night and Fog
- Bolt
- 入殓师
- An affair to Remember
- Shanghai Express
- Ninotchka
- My life without me
- Ice Age: 3
- The Trip
- Cruel Intentions
- Yes Man
- Dance MOViES 2007-2008
- White Sky
- Dance MOViES 2008-2009
- 东邪西毒
- 薔薇の葬列
- Far From Heaven
- Encounter at the end of the world
- The Cove
- Cloudy with a chance of meatballs
- 耳をすませば
- The Beaches of Agnes
- Memories
- Donnie Darko
- Los Abrazos rotos
- Ghost in the shell 1995
- Ghost in the shell 2004: Innocence
- あの夏、いちばん静かな海
- Un homme et une Femme
- Cleo de 5 a 7
- Experiment in Terror
- Chung Kuo 中国
- ゆれる
- Tokyo Godfathers
- North Korea: A day in the life
- Seoul Train
- Darwin’s Nightmare
- Salt
- Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story
- Passionless Moments
- Ghost in the shell 2003
- 新世紀Evangelion (26 Episodes)
- Yes Men Fix the World
- Blow up
- Paradox Rules
- Russian Ark
- The Take
- Toy Story 3
- 新世紀Evangelion: Air/ まごころを、君に
- Day & Night
- Meshes of the afternoon
- Mala Noche
- When you’re strange
- Black Swan
- 世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ
- Letters to Juliet
- Dead Poets Society
- Knight and Day
- Reservoir Dogs
- The Red Shoes
- Cries and Whispers
- Babel
- Touch of Evil
- A Railway for two
- Stand Alone Complex
- The Trueman Show
- Pleasantville
- The Handmaid’s Tale
- V for Vendetta
- Sin Nombre
- Mission Impossible IV
- La piel que habito
- Haywire
- The woman in Black
28. Keep in better touch with old friends
29. Do some crossword puzzles
30. Go to the gym regularly
31. Donate at least 5000 grains of rice a month at Free Rice
32. Get my driving license in NYS (November 2012)
33. Pick up playing piano
34. 日本語の勉強
35. Try to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and get through Level 2
36. Convince 1 people to make his/her “101 things in 1001 days” : Tian did =)
37. Make a wine label for my parents’ small production
38. Learn equestrian
39. Send 200 postcards through Postcrossing
40. Learn Cantonese till conversational level
41. Make a T-shirt
42. Try to learn to hang upside down
43. Visit my teachers in High school & Junior High during vacation (August 2012)
44. Take photos with Mena in summer vacation
45. Draw 10 postcards and send them
46. Call my mom and dad every week (In fact I almost did it everyday)
47. Finish my GRE vocabulary lesson
48. Learn to play the guitar
49. Donate $50 to Postcrossing after I receive 70 cards
50. Make a list of Clubs & Organizations I will join in college
51. Learn the skills of public speaking
52. Get excellent score in Calculus (I got 100!)
53. Learn to play Ice Hockey (at least have a try)
54. Make a shopping list before I go to college
55. Get through my VISA interview Jun 9, 2009
56. Learn some linux (I’m using Ubuntu now :)
57. Write a real letter to someone
58. Keep updating my blog
59. Taste typical food of a country I’ve never tried before
- I found out that I like Indian food :) Thank you, Varun~~
60. Get teeth whitened
61. Watch all seasons of CSI : Las Vegas
62. Buy a Digital Camcorder and use it
63. Sew a picture for Mena and surprise her!
64. Tell my ex that I’ve really loved him before I leave for college
65. Keep Smiling
66. Give an umbrella to a stranger in the rain
67. Persuade my dad to quit smoking
68. Fold paper trees, and use them to decorate my room
69. Go to a first-aid course
70. Apply for dual major, or co-terminal
71. Go to a writing course 09’Fall, Creative Writing
72. Join the varsity swimming club
73. Try o.b. (Jul, 2009)
74. Be a mentor
75. Perform in a multicultural show
76. Visit the New York Film Forum
77. Take photos with new friends and send them to my mum
- with Alison!
78. Get a job!
79. Take a picture on Empire State Building
80. Taking Spanish at Instituto Cervantes
81. Write a request of proposal for my film project and send it to a producer! (This is really brave)
82. GPA 4.0, at least in one semester :(
83. Learn Java
84. Finish an online course (whatever it is!)
- Dec 15, 2010, finished the online course for my Japanese language test preparation
85. Read Kafka on the shore in Japanese
86. Grow long hair
87. Learn to bake apple pie and make one for my parents ♥
88. Teach Chinese and start a club at school
89. Send Mena an RPI bear as a gift
90. Make a Short film [A Day in the Life] Sep 23, 2010
91. Make a list of all my childhood animes
92. Take the GRE once ( Do I need this to get in grad school? )
93. Read the Bible
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101. Write another ” 101 things in 1001 days ” or another future plan like this