The cover shows the state of my desktop while studying CS50 this week. Please forgive the messiness, I will tidy it up next week. 😁
Work & Life & Study#
There is nothing special to mention about work this week, except that I will have a remote meeting with a foreigner next week. The bad news is that my English is average. Even worse, the person I will be communicating with is from India. I have no prejudice, but I have difficulty understanding what they say (mainly because I am not proficient enough). I have communicated with Indians in meetings before, but fortunately, Teams now has real-time subtitles (with a slight delay), and there is also a project manager who can help. So I can only hope that I can explain the solutions clearly to the foreigner myself.
There haven't been any major changes in my personal life, mainly just an increase in exercise. Following a tutorial on Bilibili, I started practicing boxing. I originally planned to exercise for at least 5 days, but there was a slight deviation. Here is a record of my exercise: 
. Overall, boxing is definitely more efficient in burning fat than doing exercises. So, for now, it is still my best choice.
On Saturday, I participated in a company event and received a 300 yuan shopping card. I think I should reward myself a little. I thought about my wish list and it seems that there is nothing special that I want to buy in the near future, the only thing I want to buy is a kitten. I thought about it for a long time and felt that it might not be appropriate. There are several reasons why it is not suitable:
- I don't have a settled place, so there are problems with transporting a kitten during holidays. I usually go home by bus, and whether the bus allows pets depends on the "mood of the security officer." So, this is very embarrassing.
- In 2024, I will most likely change jobs. Whether I enter the software industry or continue in the mechanical industry, I will most likely not stay in Hefei. So there will be problems with transporting the kitten at that time.
- Personal business trips: I currently have a certain probability of going on business trips. Because I am single, taking care of the kitten during business trips is a problem.
- .......
After thinking about it for a long time, I had a dream on Saturday night: I dreamt that I bought a kitten, bought cat food, bought cat litter, and comforted it not to be afraid when it arrived home... It seems that I really want a kitten. I used to raise cats when I was in the countryside, but it has been more than ten years since I last raised a cat.
On Sunday afternoon, I chatted with Boss Tang and felt that he has been quite troubled recently. Boss Tang and I have always had a casual style of conversation, so we talked about various things. Boss Tang recently resigned, so we talked about his next job. The consensus we reached is that the next job should be treated as a career, not just a job. I have always had this goal, so I am very cautious in choosing companies and positions. It seems that there are no particularly good positions at the end of the year, so I didn't look for related jobs anymore and plan to look after the Chinese New Year. Finally, we also talked about Yuan Shikai proclaiming himself emperor (manual dog head 🐶).
As for studying, I am still "conquering CS50" this week. I originally planned to finish all the courses this week, but unfortunately, there is still one lecture left, Lecture 9. I should be able to finish the lecture next week, as well as the assignments for Lecture 0-8 (only 6-8 left). Lecture 9 is a big project, and I have looked at it in advance. It requires using my imagination to create something. I haven't figured out what I want to do yet, so I am still thinking about it. I plan to spend some time and effort on this final project. It is worth mentioning that CS50 has a communication group, and if you ask questions in the group, the teaching assistants (I am not sure) will answer you quickly. In the middle of the week, when I was doing a check, I kept failing, and there was no problem with debugging. I posted the problem in the group, and the teaching assistant later found that the internal test of the system did not support the function call. After she made the modification, it worked. I looked at the records, and the teaching assistants would answer quickly if there were any problems. This is great, at least in my opinion. The screenshot below shows the response at that time.
Tools#
- Notion Yearly Plan: I found a great template made by Jenn Kingston from abroad, and I recommend it to everyone: 2024 Yearly Plan Template, as shown in the picture below. As a self-proclaimed "international lazy expert," when it comes to planning, I usually just find a template and make some changes to save time and effort. If you like to do it yourself, you can give it a try. If you do it well, I will copy yours: ) 😁
Life#
- Medicated Foot Soak: I started using a medicated foot soak this week. I still have some Chinese motherwort, so I soaked my feet in it. I like to use specially boiled water to soak the medicinal herbs, and then place my feet above the basin, allowing the steam to directly steam the soles of my feet (although it doesn't have much effect). When the water temperature is suitable, I put my feet in and soak them. Chinese motherwort is said to have the function of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Soaking feet with Chinese motherwort helps improve blood circulation in the lower limbs and accelerate metabolism. However, I checked and found that it is mostly used by women. In the spirit of not wasting, I will finish using the remaining Chinese motherwort before making a decision.
- Exercise: I have been following a video to practice the Wing Chun routine this week, and I feel that my body has improved a lot, or maybe it's just an illusion that flashed through my mind... I persisted for a total of 4 days and burned more than 800 calories. Combining the calculation method of "3,500 calories per pound of fat," hmm, it's about two taels of fat.
Entertainment#
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"Growing Beans for Beans": I watched three or four episodes. The members of the show kept saying that sesame leaves are fragrant and delicious. As someone who grew up in the countryside, it seems that I have never eaten sesame leaves before, nor have I heard that sesame leaves can be eaten. I once thought it was a translation issue. I checked the encyclopedia and found out that they can actually be eaten (which surprised me 🤔). I can try them in the future. 😋 Here is a partial introduction to sesame in the "Flora of China":
Sesame is originally from India and was introduced to China during the Han Dynasty. It was called "Hu Ma" in ancient times (still called that in Japan today), but it is now commonly known as "Zhi Ma" in Chinese, which means sesame. This plant is widely cultivated in China with a long history.
Sesame seeds contain 55% oil. In addition to being used for food, they can also be pressed for oil, which is used for food and for women to apply to their hair. It is also used for medicine, as a base for ointments, lubricants, and detoxifiers. The seeds come in black and white varieties, with the black ones called black sesame and the white ones called white sesame. Black sesame is a mild and nourishing agent that contains fatty oils, which has a nourishing effect and is also effective in treating hypertension. -
"The Maze Rice": Only one episode was released, and I only watched one episode. Currently in a wait-and-see state.
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"Traveler 2": The four buddies have already gathered, but they keep getting killed by monsters, which is annoying.
Reading#
- "A Global History" (currently at 17% progress): I didn't read much this week, mainly read blog posts. Currently, I am still reading about ancient Greek civilization, and it also discusses why Buddhism and Christianity were able to spread. I will paste the explanation from the book below for everyone to read:
In the following centuries, Christianity spread throughout Europe, and Buddhism won over most of Asia. The reasons for the success of these two religions are certain new features they have in common: First, they both emphasize the salvation of the soul and promise eternal happiness in the afterlife; second, they both adhere to egalitarianism—open the door to anyone who wants to join, regardless of gender, wealth, freedom, or slavery, treating everyone equally; finally, they both emphasize noble moral principles and emphasize that in order to save the soul, one must abide by these principles. This requirement, combined with effective church organizations, enables these two religions to have a strong influence on the daily lives of believers.
Others#
- Planning to work on quarterly and monthly plans next week.
- Need to organize future work plans.
- Thinking about making a light painting, still considering whether to do it.