It was a great experience watching Warriors win

So I went to another Warriors' game. It's the second one since I got back from Taiwan. I gotta say, when you are in another city, you do not have the chance to enjoy this kind of privilege. Of course, a lot of people don't care, but it's really nice to have an arena 30 mins away from your house and is showing games most of the nights.

Tard and his DB friends decided to go and asked me if I want to join them to get the group deal which has the ticket and one free t-shirt. Of course I said yes since there's really nothing else to do in Fremont. I mean, come on, it's Fremont we are talking about here.

So Tard, Isa, and I went to the game, alone with Tard's little gf and DB ppl, and we weren't disappointed. Actually, I was pretty mad at first. The person who bought the tickets were late because of bad traffic. Reasonable, but not what you want to experience before the game. We didn't get in until the first quarter was almost over. I was actually thinking about only paying him 15 for losing a quarter of the value, but since he's a nice guy I decided not to be a d-bag.

The game was interesting, mainly because it's a close game but Warriors were always winning. And there were two guys sitting behind me talking about Darko Milicic, the former second overall draft pick who were sucking but suddenly got good recently.

Apparently Darko is on one of their fantasy team, and he's also on mine. He was in fact the leader scorer for Timberwolf, surprisingly. For the entire game, besides all the cheering and booing, those two and I were just talking about how Darko got so good and he's helping the fantasy stats in many categories. It was fun. Seriously! It is, and I'm not a dork! :D

Last but not least, I'll post photos and videos I took. Interesting fact: every time I picked up the camera, Warriors start losing. They either started making stupid mistakes or the T-Wolves start cutting the lead............

that's it! Enjoy, guys!

The Great Vietnam Fusion in Castro--Xanh

Today's restaurant is Xanh

yelp page

We didn't order a lot today, so I'm gonna talk about everything with how much I like each of them.

We got calamari for appetizer. The calamari is very tender and the batter is not too thick. The flavor is just right, salty with a hint of spicy. It's crispy, flavorful, and very unique (most of the restaurants wouldn't use onion and jalapeño)

We got two entrées. The first is the Lucky Egg Noodle. When my friend chose this, I was like "you really want this? It sounds cheap." But it turns out that the noodle is very delicious. Good choice lady! The plating is very unique and the presentation of the food is full of fun. Although it's just noodle, it would be worth the price ($13)

The second one is Duck Duck Good. It sounds funny, I know, but that is the name of the dish. It's made of duck, sticky rice, and sauce. I have to say it's not the best duck I've had. It is delicious, but it's not really that special. What's special would be the sticky rice at the bottom that is soaked with all the juice from the duck meat. Full of Flavor, but I don't think it's worth the money ($24)

Overall, it's a good place to eat if you can endure loud noise. There was a company party or some sort there so it was quite noisy. I was okay with it, but I do have to take out some points here because it simply takes too much energy to talk in that environment. That would be something to note.

Overall,

Flavor: 3.5 (duck was a bit disappointing...)

atmosphere: 3 (you kinda have to yell to the other people for them to hear you)

location: 4 (Castro, free public parking)

Price: 4 (This is hard. I like the price of the noodle, but the calamari is a bit overpriced, and the duck is definitely overpriced for how much I enjoyed)

overall: 3.5 (I kinda don't get how this restaurant got such good review on Yelp......)

Special Guest of the Day:

A comfortable and homey tavern in Palo Alto--Osteria

Today, i'm gonna talk about this restaurant that lies near University Ave. in Palo Alto.

yelp page

We had a really nice dinner here. When we walked in, the design of the restaurant is not what we expected to see near this area. As you guys all know, we've been eating around here a lot, and most of the restaurants are quite fancy on interior design. This one however, does not give that kind of feeling. Just like the word "osteria" means: Tavern. It's a homey looking restaurant without all the high class feeling. However, it doesn't affect the rating of it.

Just like the design of the restaurant, the plating of food isn't quite eye catching. To me, there's not even any plating. For appetizer, we got the prosciutto with melon. When the dish came, I immediately thought of Luffy from One Piece. For those who read the manga, it's the dish Luffy was trying to find during the banquet after saving Nami's village. Yes! It's that dish. The flavor is quite unique. the Prosciutto is salty but the melon is sweet. With the lemon juice added to it, it has three different flavors combined together. Pretty interesting.

My entrée was the pasta with shrimps and garlic sauce. Forgot what it's called. it has a strong garlic smell==> good stuff. The portion is big enough to fill you up, and the flavor was decent. Again, plating does not exist......

For the dessert, we got the hazelnut flan with chocolate sauce. i like the flan. Even though it pretty much tastes like Nutella, it's still really good. Unique? maybe. Delicious? definitely!

Oh yeah, did I mention that we only spent 60 dollars total for this meal? knowing us, it's a really cheap meal!

Overall, I like the restaurant for the portion and the taste, but it's not really a restaurant I'd take people to. There are tons of other restaurants around that have better service, food, and atmosphere in general. So the grade is......

Flavor: 4

Service: 4, the servers here are really friendly

atmosphere: 3, actually this one depends on people. If you like the homey style, you'll probably like it, but I don't think it's worth driving 30 minutes for this kind of restaurant.

location: 4, University Ave, enough said

price: 4.5, a good meal for this kind of price

overall: 4, it's good for casual lunch or dinner, and it will get you full with a little money

So i went to today's (11/30/2010) game against Spurs......

I have to say the first quarter was the best quarter, and then the Warriors just crashed......

Manu still had good game, and Tony Parker (now single) and Tim Duncan are just being themselves, so who made the difference? I kinda wanna say Richard Jefferson and DeJuan Blair (they both scored double digits, Blair even had a double-double......to make a comparison he has not scored more than 4 points in the past 4 games), but the real difference is that the Warriors are not communicating with each other. Jefferson got some many points simply from dishing from Parker, and he just went ahead for the ally-oop. This kind of play happened at least 4 or 5 times, and the Warriors had no solution to it.

If that's just it, the score wouldn't look so horrible (118-98). What are other factors?

First, turnovers. Warriors committed 16 TO's which yielded to 20 points. It's actually only 4 points more than San Antonio, but you gotta see it from the real thing instead of the stat chart. Most, if not all, turnovers are just stupid mistakes, and they have been doing that for the past few games. They gotta clean that up if they still want to win. Winning against Timberwolf is not something to be proud of. Timberwolf has allowed the most points (something Golden State used to do) to opponents. Which means everyone can have a chance to score. Spurs, however, are known for the D. Same strategy would not work on them.

Second, and the most important, foul trouble. By saying foul trouble I don't mean players that are limited for playing time due to fouling too much too quickly. What I am saying is that they foul in a bad way. This can actually be seen on the chart. Both teams have 18 personal fouls, but the free throw attempt numbers are just totally different. the FTA almost doubled and the FTM almost tripled. The Warriors really need to avoid stupid fouls like that one before break when Manu clearly cannot make that half-court shot but Rodney Carney or whoever fouled him. This is what I believe the biggest difference.

Overall, an unpleasing game to watch, and the ref's for some reason favored the Spurs. Well, maybe I am the one who's biased, who knows.

Last but not least, some pictures i took!

okay never mind, ill just share a link of video, the title explains all..........

The Joyful Restaurant for Toppas--Joya

Joya

yelp page

thank you Jeff for the pictures

This is a nice restaurant on University Ave, Palo Alto. It serves a variety of small portion of food, namely Toppas. Since it's small portion, don't expect to get full on this unless you really order a lot. But worry not, these dishes are meant for appetizers. Honestly I don't really remember what we ordered for Toppas. All we did was ordering whatever was on the menu lolllll. The only photo I have is the mini burgers. Well, all other people liked it, but it was just burgers to me......small burgers. It's good to have a taste of it, but in my opinion, don't see it as the most amazing thing you can get or else you'll be disappointed. Still, it wasn't bad.

Let's jump to the main course. We got the pork shoulder and mushroom paella. The waiter actually stopped us from ordering more, and it pissed me and my sister off because no one stops us from ordering more when we want to. Still, I actually have to thank him this time. He was right. The paella was meant for 6 people, not 2 as it said on the menu. That was a lot of rice. However, the flavor wasn't too great. It was......a little bland. I think the reason was that the pork shoulder was actually really flavorful, therefore the flavor of the paella got overpowered. I don't know if the seafood paella would be better. You guys can try it out yourself.

Let's talk about the pork shoulder.

The one on the right was the pork shoulder. It was very nicely cooked. It had a sweet flavor with all the juice in it. It was very tender. What surprised me a lot is the mashed potato (or yam.....I'm not really sure......). It had all the flavor of the meat in it and it was extra sweet. With the smooth and silky texture, it was a really awesome side dish. I recommend this one.

For the dessert, we got that cinnamon thingy. It was sour, REALLY sour. If you don't like sour stuff or you only like a little bit of sourness, DO NOT get it. I guess it was really healthy and stuff, but it wasn't my thing.

Oh yea, if you like something chill and fruity and alcoholic, try their white peach sangria. It was good and it wasn't too powerful. A really good social drink in my opinion.

So, here we go.

flavor: 3.5

service: 3.5 (even though the waiter was right, it still pisses me off, but it's just me. they actually fill your glass )

atmosphere: 3.5 (the restaurant looks nice and all, but cheese cake factory was only a few building down the street, and it looks better...........)

location: 4 (there's a lot of free parking, but driving on University Ave always makes me mad during rush hour)

price: 4 (reasonable, mostly)

overall: 3.5 (worth trying)

The Washoku Wave of Castro-- Nami Nami

So I've been eating with my sis, Jeff, and Lisa, and I think it'd be nice to blog about it since whatever you post on yelp will only sink into the bottom of the list and no one really cares......except maybe your friends. Well, it's also a good idea to fill something in my blog so it doesn't look so empty all the time. My last entry was from a month ago and it was an article someone else wrote......

anyway, hopefully i will keep this up. People who know me know that I get in and get out of things really fast. Let's see how long it lasts this time.....

so,

Kappo Nami Nami

yelp page

When I walked in I saw a nicely designed restaurant that has a theme of black, wood, and dim lights. Although it's not what you see in all those Japanese restaurants (和室style), it looks very nice.

It was a Wednesday night so there weren't too many people. However, the waitress didn't serve us tea until way later, so that was a point deducted from service.

Still, that doesn't really affect the food.

I'm gonna skip what we ordered and go directly into what I think is good. One dish--Black Cod, was my favorite. It was nicely cooked and all the juice of the fish stayed inside. I think it used misoyaki for cooking and it was a very nice touch. Plating was okay (well, Japanese food usually comes with just the food itself anyway, unless you are talking about those big dishes that have tons of decorations). Overall it was really worth trying. Although for some people the price was a little hindering (22 dollars......well, it's not too bad), it's definitely worth trying.

And then there's the cold noodle sampler.

It's very unique and very tasty. It would be one of the dishes that you have to try if you go there. From left to right it's fish eggs, sea urchin, fried shrimp, chinese yam, and I forgot what the last one is. It's cold noodle, but it's not really soba. It's more like a thin udon. Very chewy and flavorful.

There is one more--Sesame Tofu

Alright, I gotta say it tastes more like 湯圓, which is like a kind of rice ball, in both flavor and texture. It's good, but I don't think it's worth the price......

Oh yea, there's one more big plus to me. One of the waitresses is HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!

but my sister says that she must be at least 30. I was like NO WAY!? Well, whether she's 30 or not, she's hot!

so for the rating (out of 5 points):

flavor: 4

service: 3

atmosphere: 5 (the bathroom looks nice too)

location: 5 (there's a lot of free parking around Castro Rd)

price: 4 (reasonable, mostly)

overall: 4 (worth trying)

great article--procrastination

1． 一個人認為自己5天之內可以做完一件事情，所以在離deadline還有15天的時候一點

不著急，直到最後只剩5天了才開始。

2． 這種緊迫感和焦慮往往促發人的鬥志，會讓自己覺得，自己只有在壓力狀態下才有做

事情的狀態。

3． 最後拿到成績的時候，成績往往不是很差，這樣子就強化了自己最適合在deadline之

前短期高壓的狀態下工作的心態，並且對以後的行為不斷進行自我暗示。

這一個部分寫得非常符合大部分有拖遝習慣的中國學生的經歷。因為中國學生往往非常聰

明，所以哪怕最後只剩一點點時間了，也會完成得不錯；從而自認為自己最適合這樣子的

工作狀態。週而復始，反覆迴圈。

Procrastination 的其他特點

1． 沒有自信。因為每次完成任務都達不到自己最高的能力，對自我能力的評估會越來越
低。
2． 我太忙。我一直拖著沒做因為我一直很忙。
3． 頑固。你催我也沒有用。我準備好了自然會開始做。
4． 操控別人。他們著急也沒用，一切都要等我到了才能開始。
5． 對抗壓力。因為每天壓力很大，所以要做的事情一直被拖下來。
6． 受害者心態。我也知道自己怎麼會這樣，別人能做得自己做不到。

Procrastination 的淺層原因

1． 太難
2． 太耗時間
3． 沒有相關知識技能
4． 害怕別人知道自己做不好

Procrastination 深層原因，以及解決方法

1． 完美主義。所有事情都要達到一個很高的境界，要一次做好，所以不願意匆匆忙忙開
始，要萬事俱備才行。解決方法：對自己說現在的狀態就已經很好，可以開始了。每有一
點進展都鼓勵自己。意識到一點錯誤都不犯是不可能的。偉大的作家，詩人，藝術家都是
斷斷續續完成他們的傑作的，自己也可以如此。

2． 抵制與敵意。這個老師對我態度太差了，所以我不高興作他佈置的作業。解決辦法：
要意識到，不完成作業受害的是自己。不能僅僅因為一個老師的態度而影響到自己的前途
。

3． 容易頹廢。任務太難了，或者別人都不需要做我幹嗎要做，不能忍受持續做這件事情
，等明天再做吧。但是往往明天到了，心裏還是不高興做，又繼續往後推。解決辦法：尋
找一切可以找到的幫助，設法降低事情的難度，取得進展；暫時推遲自己想要放棄的心態
，每天能多做一點就多做一點。這一點也很符合很多中國學生的現狀。因為不是人人都對
自己的課題感興趣的，所以容易產生厭倦感，所以不容易定下心來完成相關任務。解決的
辦法如上所說，向別人尋求幫助，聽取建議，同時可以把任務分成比較容易的小塊，化整
為零，告訴自己其實每一個小部分都很容易就能完成。

4． 自我貶低。如果常常不能很好地完成任務，自己對自己的能力的估計會越來越低，即
使以後完成好了，也認為是運氣。解決辦法：接受別人對自己工作的讚揚；自己對自己進
行勉勵。



治療的步驟：

1． 意識到自己的拖遝是完全沒有必要的。
2． 把拖遝的原因一條條寫出來
3． 一條條克服這些原因
4． 開始做事

本文譯自 Procrastination: Ten Things To Know 。
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────


拖拉是阻礙個人成功的絆腳石，卻時常出現在我們左右。

作者是兩位對拖拉 (Procrastination) 進行研究的心理學教授，希望大家能從中有所收穫，
譯者MetalDudu@Blog

1. 百分之二十的人認為自己是長期拖拉的人。對他們來說拖拉是一種生活方式，雖然並
不適應它。這種狀態充滿了他們的生活。他們不能按時付帳單，他們忘了買音樂會的門票
，他們直到聖誕前一天才去買禮物……

2. 拖拉並非不重要，雖然通常我們不把它當作一個嚴重問題。它其實是一個自我調節的
深奧問題。通常我們都寬容別人拖拉的藉口，這也是問題的根源。

3. 拖拉並不是時間管理或者計劃方面的問題。拖拉並不因個人對時間的估計能力而不同
，雖然這些人會更樂觀一些。Ferrari 博士強調說：“要一個拖拉的人做一個有計劃的人
，就像讓一個長期消沉的人馬上振奮起來一樣。”

4. 拖拉不是天生的。它是從周圍的人學來的，但並不直接。它可能來自強權的家教，拖
拉甚至可能是一種反抗的形式。這种家庭環境下，朋友對拖拉者的寬容會助長這種習慣。

5. 拖拉的飲酒者會有更高的酒精需求量。拖拉的人會喝的更多，這是自我調節有問題的表現。

6. 拖拉的人對自己撒謊。比如“我更想明天做這件事”，或者“有壓力我才能做好”，
但實際上並非如此。拖拉者的另一個謊言是時間壓力會讓他們更有創造力，其實這只是他
們的感覺而已，他們是在揮霍時間。

7. 拖拉的人不斷找消遣的事兒，特別是自己不需要承諾什麼。查看電子郵件就是絕佳的
目標，這樣的事情成為他們調節情緒（比如害怕失敗）的一個途徑。

8. 拖拉並非一模一樣。拖拉的人有不同的原因，Ferrari 博士定義了三種基本的拖拉者：
* 鼓勵型，或者說找刺激型，他們盼著最後幾分鐘忙碌帶來的快感
* 逃避型，他們回避失敗的恐懼，甚至害怕成功，但實際上他們非常關心別人怎麼看自己
，他們更希望別人覺得他不夠努力而不是能力不足。
* 決心型，他們沒法下決心。不下決心就可以回避對應對事情的拖拉。

9. 拖拉帶來的損失巨大。健康是其中之一，研究表明拖拉的人更容易患病。拖拉也影響
人的情緒，也會破壞團隊協作和人際關係。

10. 拖拉會改變人的行為，但不會耗費多少精神力量。這並不意味著一個念頭就能馬上改
變。這個問題可以通過高度規範的認知行為治療來解決。
對行事拖拉的人進行勸誡就如同讓抑鬱症患者高興起來那麼困難。”法拉利教授認為，勸
導對拖拉症患者來說作用微乎其微，關鍵還是要靠自己下定擺脫拖拉慣性的決心，這需要
很大的精神動力才能完成。試著結合以下10個竅門，可能會更容易一些。記住，每達到其
中一項，你就離成功進了一步。



明日復明日 “拖延病”的處方

case 1：我經常擔心事做的不夠完美。但盡力做了完美主義者，可做事的效率不是很高。
經常接到任務以後，心裏想的是儘快完成，可總是一拖再拖。為什麼？

→ 病名：擔心引起的拖延病。
→ 處方：總想把事情做的完美一些，但壓力越大就越擔心做不好事遲遲不敢付出行動。總
是把萬事的結果定為，不是成功就是失敗、只要作錯了一點，做的再好也都是錯的。出
了事就算不是自己的責任也會攬到自己身上。

首先得醒悟“自找擔心”是多麼消極的事情。

假如，在準備報告時，最初就能寫出完美的報告是不可能的。一定會有一些偏差也有理論
上說服力較小的地方。所以，完美是不存在的。追尋一下到現在為止你所做過是事有多少
事是完美的，一定沒有特別完美的事。但一定也沒耽誤什麼事。
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

case 2：一旦接到什麼任務總會擔心“我一定能做好嗎？做錯了教授會不會責備我？”在
想這些的時候時間已悄悄溜走了。
→ 病名：自我指責的拖延病
→ 處方：對過去一些失敗的記憶會變成一種壓力。想治好自我指責的病，可以把責任都推
託到別人身上。不要因為善良的自卑感而把一切問題都自己扛。這樣只會讓你的自信心
下降。輕視自己之前先把責任都推到別人身上吧！然後，用另一種方式解釋自己的失敗。
比如：在小組功課中有了一個好的創意。但因為沒有時間，結果在報告中露掉了。在這
種情況發生的時候，如果是自我指責的人就會想：
" 哎！因為沒有發表這個創意，以後教授知道了會不會扣我的學分呢？ "
取代上面想法的應該是
" 我真了不起，能有這麼好的創意。 "
" 下次寫報告時用就可以了。那一定比這次輕鬆多了。 "
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

case 3：我特別的執著，一旦問題襲來的時候就感到不安和急躁。問題解決之前做不好任
何事情。
→ 病名：執著引起的拖延病
→ 處方：“怎麼會這樣？”“到底那時候為什麼那麼做？”即使在過去的事情裏找原因
也不會有什麼改變。澄清一件事也解決不了問題。因為事情是由幾種因素合成的。什麼時
候才能把事情一一都弄清楚呢？在公司寫企劃案的時候寫不好的原因也有很多種。期限太
短或過去寫過一次結果被上司責罵了一頓，留下了創傷。還有就是還沒找到資料等等。澄
清問題對以後沒有任何幫助。所以，要往可以解決問題的方向行動。做企劃案時應該想：
“這次應該跟其他公司比較著做看看了。”如果這樣想著行動的話一定有效。
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

case 4：我總是沒有自信，怎麼努力也改不了。為了從苦海中擺脫出來看過不少有關的書
籍但都徒勞無功。因為沒有自信做起事也不順利。不知道能不能改變一下這樣的我。
→ 病名：封閉自我印象引起的拖延病
→ 處方：在苦惱的邊緣走不出來的人是因為被自己錯誤的想法封鎖住了。一定要從誤區的
牢籠裏走出來。為了打破錯誤的想法捫心自問一下自己“假如，我是能做到○○事的人，
應該先想些什麼？先做些什麼？”假如，做報告的時候，因為忙於某些事遲遲沒做出來。
這時，應該想“如果我是個做報告的能手，應該先做什麼事呢？”考試成績不好，但還得
向父母交代的時候應該想“假如，我是個成績不好，但能向父母主動表白的人，應該先做
什麼事？” 想這些問題的時候，不能用太長的時間。第一個想到的就是正確答案。所以
直接實第一個想法就可以了。
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

case 5：我在所有決定中沒有自信。當決定了做某件事的時候，往往因為不確定是對的還
是錯的而煩惱。這樣一來事就一拖再拖。不是因為我懶，而是因為每次都不能付出行動。
所以人們都說我辦事的效率不高。
→ 病名：不安感或懶惰引起的拖延病
→ 處方：你在想自己的想法對不對那是因為 “為了想這個辦法用了那麼長時間，付出了
那麼大的努力，但要是失敗了怎麼辦？就不就功虧于潰了嗎？”因為這些不安感一直浮現
在腦海裏。所以不想做任何事情。假如，要學習但桌子很亂找書都很不容易。明知道應該
收拾一下，但怕麻煩遲遲不行動。這時候，父母要嘮叨個不停，就有了叛逆的心理更是不
收拾。這時你應該冷靜下來好好想一想。是打掃一下好還是睜一隻眼閉一隻眼過的好。然
後再決定。把最初的想法扭轉過來很難，但一旦習慣了就覺得行動比拖延更輕鬆。
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────