Two Thanksgiving Dinners, Millions of Thanks

This Thanksgiving, I was so lucky that I received two kind invitation from two lovely American families: The O'Neils' and The Zampa's. O'Neils is my hostfamily since a year ago, which you all should be quite familiar with already. My kind classmate and teammate Eileen, the hostess of the Zampa family again invited all international students and me over for the home-made turkey, sweet potato, pumpkin pies and wines. "Wendy, you HAVE TO COME meet my family this time! They've heard about you for so many times and they're so looking forward to meeting you in person," Eileen insisted. As a result, I moved the meeting with O'Neils to Wednesday evening, and showed up at Zampa's at the Thanksgiving night.

From Last quarter life in Northwestern U

Joan, Stacey, the Golden Retriever "Candle" and Joan's sister Diane from Wisconsin came picked me up Wednesday evening. Surprisingly Pat and Alexie were as well at home, and sure should Star be home- WOW! EVERYONE WAS HOME! Joan and Stacey started to prepare the German meal for us shortly, while I enjoyed the conversation with Pat and Diane, with smooth white wine and Swiss cheese at hand. We covered my struggle to find a position after graduation, the current Thailand and India crisis, the recession, and things about Northwestern. Diane gave me some useful suggestions about getting an internship role in an organization, Pat and Joan kept encouraging me to look on the bright side of life. As for Star and Candle? They cuddled, played around, sometimes asked for some pats and kept really nice and gentle to guests. :) After we had some ice cream and great Chinese flower tea together, I got the chance, nicely requested by Joan, to play the piano for them. One of the songs I played was the one Mom just fell in love with this summer. "That was beautiful. No wonder your mom would love it. I could imagine the time when you were playing the piano while she was standing aside, singing," Joan said.

When we stepped out of their house later that night, I was stunned by the clear sky with thousands of stars, shining. I guessed that feeling was quite close to the word- heaven.

Luckily, the warmth kept me company for long until the next day. Another kind classmate, Ann, came pick me up for Eileen's Thanksgiving dinner. Joined by Victor, Isaih, Myriam and Nishant, we got a packed car with full celebration mood. We arrived at Zampa's shortly and joined all other happy faces first with some wine and later with traditional Thanksgiving dishes. We had some "IMC talks" on the dinner table, when those "alient concepts" made Victor, Eileen's mom-in-law and dad-in-law "surprised" in a way. Second Life? Blogging? LinkedIn? Online dating? Facebook? um..... WHAT?

Without doubt, we also had some chances talking about the funny international learnings we had in the program: Eileen's Shanghai trip, Michelle's Indian trip, Myriam's shocks about her time in the U.S., and my Asian experiences. We laughed SO LOUD sometimes, and those moments, if I had to describe, were AWESOME!

Thanks to Nishant's request, I played some piano again :) For the first few songs, I guessed I did not warm-up enough yet so I made silly mistakes easily. I was especially horrible when I was asked to sing a song in Chinese while playing. Jeez, I should have not picked that song :P Anyways, there were about 15 people in the room listening to "A Whole New World," "Amazing Grace," "Moon River," "I Expect," and THAT was a record!

Our evening ended around 11 after several rounds of "Apples and Apples" game. Outside, millions of shining stars awaited!

"Thanks for coming!" Eileen gave me a very warm hug before I left. The pleasure belonged to me, seriously. Thank you all, Eileen, David, Matthew, Thomas and James! I would not have such wonderful Thanksgiving memories if there weren't you :D

Super Funny Cat with "The Tunnel"

This is SOOOOOO CUTE! I miss my Pipi now :(

Airport Information Web Site- AeroChannel

Airport Information Web Site to Help Alleviate Holiday Travel Woes
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Aerochannel.com is a unique day-of-flight service designed to help airline travelers get to their flight on time. More than 4.5 million passengers are traveling this Thanksgiving holiday.... most flights are still expected to be full due to the reduced the number of available flights.... Flyers should expect full parking lots, longer check-in and security lines, and busy terminals. AeroChannel's distinctive "How Long will It Take" feature gives airline passengers an easy-to-read timeline to help them make it to the gate on time......

Recently I have heard about several misfortune stories already, so I guess AeroChannel's service might be really helpfule for passengers who's traveling with tight schedule. The best part of it is: it also allowed on-the-go mobile notification, so passengers won't need to worry about not connecting to internet=not able to keep tracking on their status. It's "Total Time to the Gate" included the prediction of inside airport traffic, parking, check-in, security check and pre-flight waiting time. I tried out its accuracy with a friend's flight, and I think it's pretty dynamic and accurate.

I will check next time when I have to fly again. Why not try it out yourself?

Struggle

在Intercampus上的我來回經過了好些地方，抬眼、留戀、沉默、假裝放下。
「當我遠颺」在mp3裡響起，又是隨選播放，又挑到了絕妙好時機。
下了車，快步衝回家的路上我把心底的天平擺出來認真的評估，不知道是不是音樂加持的關係，我才發現原來有些說服不了自己的事情就是說服不了的。

我害怕，我愧疚，我甚至覺得沒有臉面對這攤荒唐，覺得對你肯定交代不過去，
雖然你可能根本一點也不在乎，或者是沒有在乎過，
可是我，如同她所說的，不知道怎麼放下。
說破嘴想破頭，愚蠢如我至少還在這裡感覺得到，那比你多一點點的在乎。

才發現「當我遠颺」在每次唱起時，其實都讓我隱隱作痛.......

Free E-cards for Holiday Seasons

Thanks to Xiaojing, I got to know the Web site where all the lovely e-cards are on http://www.thanksgivinggreetings.net/. All the e-cards are for free, with music, categorized well enough with different purposes/occasions and very easy to use. I admit that to send out an e-card could still be a not-warm-enough idea to show your beloved ones the love you have for them, but it is indeed so helpful for us to demonstrate our concerns to people all around in this fast forwarding world.

I enjoyed the delicate card she picked for me, for example. I felt the warmth and enjoyed the holiday music embedded. Happy Thanksgiving!

Other IMCer Creativity: Chinese v.s American Business Culture

This group of student asked me about my take and observations based on my KFC China experience. I mentioned the way to present your business card and business greetings, and they mentioned even more: normal greetings, business meeting, business dinner, and the way to drink.

If you are not familiar with the topic mentioned, take a look at it and you may find it helpful :)

Another Bad Apple: The Ad Group

Praise the Lord! I got this very personal comment from a friend before I nearly schedule a fly over for an interview:

I passed the first round of interview and then went on to the 2nd, full day of interview, where they take you around on training. It's really dangerous, they took me to all these really bad areas in LA and had me follow them around as they did person to person selling. They were taking me to SWEATSHOPS (which are totally illegal in the US) and then i was sexually harassed (!!) They made some comment about asking me to model in a bikini or something....

They are VERY sketchy, i totally do not recommend this company.

Who they are:
http://www.teamtaggroup.com/

This world is dangerous...

FreeConference- ConCall Service that Serve Your Need!

https://www.freeconference.com/

Meeting in groups with conference calls becomes very easy and affordable nowadays. Thanks to Albert's recommendation, I got to know this service that allowed every single registered user to schedule free conference calls for their business and non-business needs! Once a conference was scheduled, the system will automatically send out invitations to your contacts providing them the dial-in number, access code, meeting purpose, dates and time. You can also save/manage your frequent conference contacts and group them for repeating conferences in the future. As for the quality of the ConCall? Not an issue at all~!

So, why get yourself into terrible traffic? Why not ConCall?

Wendy在Cheers雜誌(網路版)：【用自信的文字sell yourself!】

用自信的文字sell yourself！

面對心儀的學校，如何寫出一份恰到好處的申請文件？寫得夠自信，甚至可以成為逆轉勝的關鍵。

文／史書華　圖／Wendy提供
2008年11月 Cheers雜誌

除了要額外花時間準備考試測驗外，出國留學的下一道關卡更讓不少申請者感到頭痛：該如何撰寫申請文件？

申請國外研究所不外乎要撰寫讀書計劃（SOP）或自我介紹的短文（essay），要在兩張以內的A4紙清楚帶出重點之外，面對學校愈來愈看重申請者的「誠信」，學會緊盯撰寫內容更是不能馬虎。

美國杜克大學商學院在去年7月傳出學生集體考試作弊，加上今年5月又爆發民間網站洩漏商學院入學測驗GMAT題目，「商學院審查申請者的文件時將更加嚴格。」美國《商業週刊》雜誌（BusinessWeek）報導。

面對學校將看緊文件審查，既不能浮誇，又要讓自己突出，要怎麼寫出恰到好處的申請文件？

大方推銷自己

大多數留學顧問觀察，相較於美國弊案，台灣學生較為誠實，「但反過來說，台灣申請者在撰寫文件時都太謙虛，」美國教育基金會副執行長李黛梅說。

二度申請，才在今年申請上全美數一數二的西北大學整合行銷傳播所（IMC）的Wendy，對文件撰寫也是經過累積才逐漸抓到技巧。....全文請詳閱2008年11月 Cheers雜誌

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怎麼了怎麼了？為什麼會有這一篇？
其實是因為我的留美準備之路Blog被書華發現，她寫了封Email過來希望與我電話訪談，之後又要了一些相片過去參考，於是促成了這個報導的刊載。在台灣的朋友們，請去翻翻Cheers實體雜誌吧！據說他們引用在實體雜誌裡的照片不是上面那一張，而是我到中國肯德基時的照片。是否為真，請你們告訴我囉　：）

Check Out IMC Students' Creativity: FoodTube

http://foodtube454.blogspot.com/

Why FoodTube?

I have to be honest. I was a little selfish when my consumer insights team began this project because I have been wanting to learn how to cook Asian food. I love eating it and wanted to learn how to cook some things at home. I also wanted to satisfy my fantasy of hosting a cooking show.....

So, there started the adventure. Two Taiwanese, one Chinese and one American produced so far four video clips showing people how to prepare Dumplings, Bubble Milk Tea, Chinese Honey Roast Duck, and Taiwanese Fried Chicken. Maybe some more to come, we will see~

I LOVE their creativity already. Check it out please!

Alert! Avoid Rip-off Company/position!

I was checking an opening, which looks simple, attractive and to my interest. But somehow I dind't feel that comfortable about their vague job description and low entry barrier. Thanks to Google, See what I got:

The Marketing Firm, Marketing FX, Inc.... They are a rip off, pyramid scheme, do NOT get involved Chicago Illinois
*UPDATE Ex-Employee responds ..Actually Marketing FX.com and Marketing FX.org are the SAME

This company is a total pyramid scheme. They tell you that you will be trained in marketing and all aspects of business. But what it really comes down to is they would like for you to walk around trying to sell discounted office supplies for over a year if you are stupid enough to stick around for that long. They have come up with stupid 'formulas' of how to make a sale. I was stupid enough to acutally go back for a second interview when on the first one, I went in with another person for 5 minutes while they asked us questions about a questionaire that I filled out. When I tried to ask questions about the job, they kept saying that there would be time for questions later......When we were FINALLY done they cornered me in the office and offered me the job saying come in a month earlier that I could actually start. I of course didnt except and they immediately gave me looks and said that I would be making a huge mistake among other comments, very unprofessional. I am just hoping that this post helps other people to not get sucked into their scheme.

Michelle
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.

Well, I guess I have to pay extra attention even when I'm so eager to get things done....

Hunting for Job? Citigroup is Cutting Job...

NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal

Nov. 17, 2008

Citigroup plans to announce job cuts of up to 50,000 through attrition and layoffs as Chief Executive Vikram Pandit addresses employees in a town hall-style meeting Monday morning. Citigroup's head count would be cut to 300,000 from about 350,000 at the end of the third quarter.

For more information, please see http://online.wsj.com/home/us?mod=djemalertNEWS

--

What a timing for me to become a "freshman" again....

Chicago, LA or San Francisco?

As you all may notice, it's almost the time of my graduation. Exactly, time flies! What bothered me recently was the tough decision about staying here in the US or going back to Taiwan/Asia. After some dramatic struggles (well, allow me to skip the story for now.....), I made up my mind to fight till the last minute here. The following question, then, was- where should I stay?

Here came the options and the pros & cons. I am still struggling for the final decision. If you have any thoughts? Let me know! To clarify, one of the reason that made me so undecisive was due to the student visa policy regulation: if I do not get any offer from a company for a full-time or internship position, I have to leave the country after 3 months stay after my OPT status started.

Option I: Chicago

• Reason of stay: Least hassle of moving, 3rd biggest city in the US, most familiar city, center location = not too far away from the E or W
  
• Connections: Most
• Living cost: Rent ($600-$800/mth), Living ($300/mth)
  
• Housing: month-by-month sublease or rental (contract hassle)
  
• Transportation: public system is fine
  

Option II: Los Angeles

• Reason of stay: Most Chinese corporation/opportunities, milder weather, comparatively more connections outside of Chicago
  
• Connections: Many (Friends' families, college friends, friends' friends, alums)
• Living cost: Rent ($800+/mth), Living ($300/mth), Car ($4,000-$5,000)
• Housing: month-by-month sublease or rental (contract hassle) OR lucky enough- friend's place (without contract hassle)
• Transportation: public system is poor, must have a car

Option III: San Francisco

• Reason of stay: High-tech/online marketing industry hub (most desired), milder weather
  
• Connections: Least (Yana, Tina C.)
• Living cost: Rent ($1,200-$1,500/mth), Living (>$300/mth), Car ($4,000-$5,000)
• Housing: month-by-month sublease or rental (contract hassle)
• Transportation: public system is poor, must have a car

See, it's not an easy decision to make! Stay or Go? Go? Where?!

席慕蓉-際遇

在馥郁的季節　因花落
因寂寞　因你的回眸
而使我含淚唱出的
不過是
一首無調的歌

卻在突然之間　因幕起
因燈亮　因眾人的
鼓掌　才發現
我的歌　竟然
是這一劇中的輝煌

大哭了

因為內外交雜的疲累
因為茫茫的未來
因為與神破碎的關係
因為這場十一月的初雪
因為說甚麼也帶不了我前往彼岸的你和自己
因為想大哭想大叫餓了吃不下累了睡不著只能游魂般飄進飄出只剩下空動渙散眼神似懂非懂望著四面八方卻依舊只望見一片茫然的無奈
因為向來必要的理性的壓抑
因為最想逃避但是最躲不開的那些現實
因為最渴望的，那厚實的擁抱

0度C，I burned out，沒有人知道。
連淚，都累了，只有兩滴，流淌，陪著我以為就要停掉的心跳....

NanObama

How creative can people show their love to the new president? Check the Web site and photos http://www.nanobama.com/ to find out!

Some Pieces of Truth from David Rabjohns

I went to a Professional Speaker Series speech this noon with the guest speaker Mr. David Rabjohns. This gentlemen is a British who has worked for IBM, UK; Pepsico, AU; Saatchi & Saatchi, UK; and Leo Burnett, US before. He's currently the President and CEO of his own company Motive Quest, a strategy planning consultancy based in Evanston.

Indeed, he got a rich profile, and from his talks I knew that he is very talented and passionate about his career and life. He went for a world trip after he got the B School degree, mostly on the motorcycle he bought on the way. That experience cultivated his courage to life and his deep belief in people. Another great example of taking a wonder trip and having one's life altered.

He shared some pieces of words that touched me a lot. Let me list it down here:

• Perspiration beats inspiration
• Trust your GUT!
• ALWAYS: Learn how to learn; Learn how to get along with people, especially brilliant people; Learn how to be in a team
  
• Work for a company on the way UP
• Get digital! That's for sure the big thing in the coming century.
• When you find you know 1% more tahn other people's do, dig deeper and become the expert!

I admire him. Admire his attitude to life. Admire his characteristics. If I could become someone like him in the future......

Nwu Speech 11 5 08

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

Please Help Our Survey on Beauty Products

Dear my lovely friends,
For our course project, a group of students from Northwestern University really need your help to complete this 5 minute survey about beauty products. We especially desire to have various people from anywhere in the U.S. to help answer our questions. Your time and comments are very valuable to us. Please click on the link below to help us out. Thank you very much!

GO FOR THE BEAUTY PRODUCT SURVEY!

心目中的好男人(22,32,42,52,62,72歲版)

心目中的好男人（22歲時第一次寫）
1.帥
2.迷人
3.有錢
4.忠實的聽眾
5.風趣
6.體力好
7.衣著合宜
8.品味高雅
9.時時讓我驚喜
10.狂野浪漫的好情人


心目中的好男人（32歲時改寫）
1.五官端正－最好還有頭髮
2.會幫我開車門，拉座椅
3.肯花錢帶我上館子吃頓好的
4.聽的比說的多
5.聽我講笑話，該笑時會笑
6.肯幫我提菜籃
7.好歹有條領帶
8.喜歡吃我煮的菜
9.不會忘了生日及週年紀念日
10.一週至少溫存一番


心目中的好男人（42歲時改寫）
1.還像個人－禿子也無妨
2.等我上了車才開車
3.工作穩定－偶爾在麥當勞請吃大餐
4.還肯聽我說話
5.聽得懂笑話
6.搬得動傢俱
7.會找遮得住"小"腹的襯衫穿
8.不會笨到去買須要開瓶器的香檳
9.上完廁所能把馬桶蓋歸位
10.每週刮鬍子


心目中的好男人（52歲時改寫）
1.偶爾剪個鼻毛及耳毛
2.不在公開場合打嗝或挖鼻孔
3.有點債信
4.我興緻來的時候，不會呼呼大睡
5.一樣的笑話不講N次
6.週末還肯離開沙發
7.會穿成對的襪子及乾淨的內衣褲
8.肯吃電視快餐
9.多少記得別人的名字
10.偶爾刮個鬍子


心目中的好男人 (62歲時改寫)
1.不會嚇壞小朋友
2.還記得浴室在哪
3.大病沒有
4.醒的時候鼾聲不大（睡的時候可以大聲些）
5.還記得為何發笑
6.還站的起來
7.不會光著身子亂跑
8.肯吃軟食
9.還記得假牙在哪
10.還記得‧‧‧


心目中的好男人（72歲那年改寫）
1.活著就好
2.活著就好
3.活著就好
4.活著就好
5.活著就好
6.活著就好
7.活著就好
8.活著就好
9.活著就好
10.只要活著就好一切都無所謂

----
我恭喜Andrew他的32歲版得分很高，他說其實72歲版他的得分最高所以根本沒差。
挖哩......這傢伙.....

Chapelle de la Maison Mere- Mallet, Quebec

Please check this amazingly beautiful virtual tour for Chapelle de la Maison Mere!!! http://www.photojpl.com/flash/08mallet.html

The panorama is so clear and beautiful. Scroll up and down, right and left to see more detail. Enjoy!

Have You Ever Had This Feeling?

From Autumn again

散步回家的路上，MP3裡的樂聲響起，在你最不願意被提醒的瞬間。
整條街上招展著的滿樹楓紅除了讓人發自內心的讚嘆，也勾起了那種很濃很濃的惆悵感。

泫然欲泣，就在只有車輛呼嘯而過的大街上。
週邊不是沒有別人，但是就有種世界只剩下你和你的影子在對話的感覺。
站在該面對的現實面前，唯一在你心裡的念頭卻只有逃得越遠越好，
偏偏在那個你自以為安全的角落，那種想要的安慰，你根本沒有把握在不在.......

あの人、あの場所、あの気持ちとあの物語。
疲れたよ。簡単な幸せが大変ほしい！でもその物はどこにありますか......

Fall in Love with This Song

The soft tone comforts me and makes me feel the happiness. Just like the sunshine over here :) Enjoy~

Carla Bruni - You Belong To Me
See the Pyramids
Along the Nile
Watch the sun rise
On a tropic isle
Just remember darling
All the while
You belong to me

See the market place
In old Algiers
Send me photographs
And souvenirs
Just remember
'Til your dream appears
You belong to me

I'll be so alone
Without you
Maybe
You'll be lonesome, too
Maybe
You'll be lonesome too
And blue

Fly the ocean
In a silver plane
See the jungle
When its wet with rains
Just remember
Till you're home again
Or until
I come home to you
You belong to me