最近ft得不得了，才明白国内staff们办事效率有多高。乱死了，都没时间联系家里和朋友们，sorry啊。前后遇到些麻烦，应该都能搞定的，最要命的事情也是有信心的，oyeah！

就把我稍做修改的draft放上来，不改了。很意识流的哦。大家就知道我最近在干什么了。看上去也许有点fb，不过那个快节奏高压力还是只有过来才知道。

Draft:

最后的准备，爸妈比我还紧张，那三个箱子的重量称了又称，可怜天下父母心。

Buick商务车送我去机场（后来从室友那里知道老美们都没人开这个的，国内却这么受欢迎，奇怪），一路高速，这个车比上次去浙大接我回来的那个好多了。

登机前和爸妈舅舅舅妈告别，依依不舍，老妈要哭了，patpat。

飞啊飞，好多空中阿姨阿婆啊，很nice的，奇怪为什么没年轻点的ppmm呢，后来才知道那个要去头等仓的。

旁边坐的是一位印度帅哥，硅谷的EE Engineer，小聊了一下，看来在industry混的蛮滋润的。还碰到过去传教的，在美国定居的，不同的人对美国生活的评价相差非常大。

窗外依然是无边无际的太平洋，屁股坐的累了，累的都疼了。从亮到暗，从暗到亮，生物钟紊乱（事后证明这么一来直接把时差调过来了）。飞啊飞，看到美国大陆啦，SF转机。没想象中的宏伟气派，天阴阴的。机场的东西非常之贵，看来和国内一样。来过中国短期教书的美国大叔跟我们讲中文，普通话比我爸好，汗。飞跃帮合影，然后等来了转机去LA的小飞机，很快就到了。坐我旁边的阿姨带唇球疼不疼啊（不过后来在Albertsons看到在耳朵上穿个大螺丝钉的sg，就更orz了）。终于坐到窗户边，外面一直是灰黄一片，隐约感觉到所谓的加州阳光了，半沙漠地带当然天天阳光明媚了！LA的机场和SF半斤八两，就是太阳太shinning了。

学生会就地UCI Life的Orientation，大巴接我们穿过半荒漠的郊区，看到一个砖墙上书University of California Irvine立马想起了当年去紫金港报道。开始也是半荒漠，到了宿舍区就慢慢好了。马上就是一个很nice但是多少有些繁琐的VP housing office orientation。搞定后各自搬行李回家，后来才知道那个热情的要命开皮卡送我到新家还直接帮我搬箱子进屋的阿姨是Vice Prisident，感到ing。后来发现越到老区越多树，Centrial Park那边基本就是绿树成荫了。Irvine的气候很好，很凉爽，但是在太阳下非常晒。分析之，靠海边的寒流为这边的空气降温。

晚上新生欢迎会，开始认识这边的人，包括接触教会。特地跑来手机推销那里没买，虽然后来还出去时撞到他店里买的。去Albertsons购买食品，不用饿肚子了。物价还好的，大瓶牛奶，汽水饮料和果汁比国内还便宜。借倒mattress，不用睡地毯了。

第二天睡过头，错过ICS帮集体去办手续，幸好跑出去后意外碰到也在到处办手续EECS的朋友一起走，补上了些。去Washington Mutull开了个账户，有支票的人了，娃哈哈。晚上教会免费晚餐，之后要去买手机之后提前离开，这么吃了人家的怪不好意思的。没车就算断了腿，靠师兄师姐们带着到处跑。

第三天去IKEA，Walmart购买家具和生活用品，第一次目睹美国早快餐，貌似很不好吃而且贵（自己现在dorm用面包牛奶解决了），原来这里的老生和国内的没什么区别，都睡懒觉且不按时吃早饭。IKEA这种家具超市还蛮好玩的，忍不住烧了几百刀，好容易塞进车里。后来装的死去活来，让我一个人DIY一定崩溃，做个工人真不容易啊。IKEA发财的秘诀就是省了大量组装工人的劳动力，要知道国外体力劳动力是贵的吐血的！Walmart到感觉不怎么了，出了有些东西贵的要命而有些和国内差不多甚至更便宜之外没什么区别，这种大超市国内多了。然后是99大华，蔬菜贵的吐血，甚至比鸡肉还贵，新鲜鱼虾是买不起了，天天吃面包牛奶算了，感觉还OK的，而且牛奶比国内还便宜，面包稍贵，关键都是难吃的干面包。下午买了手机， 伪装成免费的Moto V3i for T-Mobile，有cellphone啦！晚上第一次集体腐败，中国餐馆，上海老板娘。晚上回来12个PhD装个床，崩溃了。今天一共烧了400刀，家具，日用品和买菜。

我的豪宅啊，townhome的dorm，喜欢死了，可是贵得要死啊！那个fellowship还要缴税，虽然不算太多，可是还是心痛啊。对了，加州的消费税高达7.75%，无语了。

第四天上午4个ICS PhD装床，中午去Licong师姐家听bg，下午去Corona Del Mar享受南加州的阳光海滩，路上过了一把名车的眼瘾，奔驰宝马不要太多，悍马林肯宾利好多，最赞的是看到好多酷呆了的跑车，蓝博基尼比法拉利要多好多，还有光亮气派的老爷车，鬼子就是富啊。好蓝好清的海，而且远看过去似乎海面是向上延伸的，很奇怪，因为地球是圆的？第一次沙滩排球，跟老外们并肩作战。第一次冲浪，比较土点。本来想一口气游到远处一个很pp的白色帆船的，可惜不能过警戒浮标，只好折回。回头望望应该游了好几百米，看来自己体力还ok的。跟Haobo师兄在海边谈论学业事业规划。就是时间过的太快，马上就sunset了，又是驱车老远前去集体fb，第二次了，一清真菜，上一次也是在米国的第一次腐败是新大华那边的一个中餐馆，还好，AA下来都是每人不到10刀，而且量都比较足的，肉也不少，想念我的鱼啊。晚上6个phd齐心协力装好了我full-size的床，写字台和附属的抽屉，真不容易，想起金工实习。以后去宜家做intern去，“Oh，My IKEA！”装到半夜，说到邻居会不会报警啊，一个带探照灯的直升机就过来了，还好不是冲我们来的，呵呵。累的半死终于搞定，蓝领真不容易啊！

第五天睡掉了真个上午，中午依然是驱车跑到新大华那边去下馆子。下午继续办手续，终于看到我们的ICS Building了，还有Xiaowei JJ的Office，门上的PhD Comics漫画会吓坏小孩子的呀！晚上我们几个新生一起做菜bg罩我们的师姐和师兄，大家整了几个菜出来，我的手艺还OK，不过貌似就我吃的最欢，难道这种口味就我自己喜欢？Zhang Zheng的排骨最nice，新好男人啊，要赞的。之后闲聊到很晚，还通过Internet Search八卦Prof们，NB的。我的美国roommate回来了，小聊了一会儿，挺nice的。我的钥匙包丢了，不是吧，争取快点找回来。

第六天又是睡掉大半个上午，然后收拾bedroom，基本tidy了。下午去ICS Department见了预约过的Rapp阿婆，手续OK了，然后匆匆忙忙得跑了IC和其他几个Office，美国的手续烦到无语了，都这样跑了多少天了，而且接下来的几天里还是要不断地跑。还有，美国人工作时间都很professional，对你非常nice，可是一下班，大多数人恐怕连一分钟都不会serve你，汗的。帽子找回来了，会贵的要死的钥匙包也找回来了，怀疑某同学的眼力，我可是担心了整整一天啊，连Xiaowei JJ都没心思想了。傍晚搞定我IKEA的Desk的八颗大钉和台灯。晚上依然是集体做饭和装IKEA的家具。现在还算利索了，可以去做IKEA的Intern了；以后IT也再来个衰败也不怕了，去IKEA当蓝领去！！！

最后讨论趁Xiaowei JJ回来前去趟Disneyland或者Sea World。加州自然不必说，一直把拉斯维加斯，大峡谷，墨西哥的日程都排进去了；那么什么时候去佛州，纽约波士顿华盛顿，还有五大湖和黄石国家公园？末了开始讨论选课的时期，这个很重要的哦。刚收到email，泳镜找回来了，赞，rp开始转好了！就等Xiaowei JJ回来啦！

Why not go back? Why so many people love to stay here and why you feel strange when I declare I'd go back after graduation, maybe wokring some year first? I'm so afraid.

One of my favorite essay read when in High School on English Pictorial. It was my first time that I heard of Reader's Digest and then remembered her name forever. I transcirbed it on my notebook and kept it for years until I was leaving for America when I found it and reread it. I didnt' know why I loved this eassy so much when I should totally have no idea about going abroad, just for the beautiful words? And now I even had a more subtle sympathy with the author.

My Stone in the Wall

                       Arnold Berwick

Everything I saw on the Norwegian farm where my mother was born was new and different—so unlike the San Francisco where I was growing up. Built on the side of a steep tree-covered mountain, the farm consisted of a large house and a larger barn. Every afternoon a hired girl went to her shoulders and disappeared into the woods. Early the next morning she returned, struggling under a heavy load.

“Where did the girl go?” I asked my mother.

“To the Seter.” Farther up the mountain, my mother explained, lay a pasture where cows fended for themselves during he summer. The girl climbed to the Seter, milked the cows and stayed overnight in a log hut. The next morning she milked them again and returned to the farmhouse.

Being an inquisitive then-year-old, I naturally had to see the Seter. One morning I walked up through the woods—densely covered with pines, irches and bracken. The path was narrow but well trod. Eventually I stepped out of the darkened woods and into sunshine.

There, in a wide, open pasture, stood a small log hut with a turf roof. A stone wall meandered around the hut. Tiny arctic flowers sprinkled the earth with spots of red and white. Silver and yellow mosses clung to large gray boulders strewn about.

The only sounds were the occasional warble of a bird and clanging of cow bells. My mother told me that the cows wandered during the day, but staged close enough to the hut to hear the song of the Seter girl.

I could see mountains spread before me for miles in all directions. I could see the little log hut with green grass and yellow buttercups growing on the turf roof. I suddenly felt something I couldn't describe—something I couldn't see or hear. As I sat on the ground, gazing out over the forld with my back again the stone wall, I wondered what caused this strange but pleasant feeling.

My mother later explained that for hundreds of years our family had lived on the Ansok farm. With each new crop of children, it was understood that the eldest son would take over the farm and support his parents and children. When he grew old, his eldest son would take over.

“We don't know when the first person settled on the land,” my mother said.” But when the Danes took over, they kept written records—the sheriff's tax accounts and the church's vital records.”

She took a book from a shelf and opened it. “See,” She pointed. “Jon Ansok was born on the farm in 1540. He had two sons, Karl and Steiner. Later Karl took over the farm. The records show the name, date of birth, date of marriage and date of death of each one who ran the farm, and the names of each of his children. Every one is listed, from 1540.”

She turned a few pages and again pointed. “And here's my father—Jorgen Nilsson Ansok, born in 1866 and died in 1942.”

I glanced down to see his children. And there was my mother's name: Inga Sofie, born in 1892, with the notation “U.S.A.”

Then my mother added, “I was the Seter girl when I was young. After my chores were done, I loved to gaze out over the mountains and wonder what was on the other side.”

She paused with a pensive, wistful look on her face.

“I wanted to see for myself what was on the other side of the mountains.” She straight-ended up.” So I came to America, married your father”—he, too, was a Norwegian—“and eventually you were born.”

She looked directly at me.” Don't you see? Your deep roots are in those mountains.”

Years later I returned to Norway. Times had changed. The Seter was no longer in use. The log hut had collapsed into a pile of rubble. No more cows. Only the birds.

Once again I gaze at the faraway mountains, at the scene that had been imprinted in my mind. My mother had once stood at this very place, looked afar and dreamed her dreams. I walked over to the stone wall.

For some reason my attention was drawn to one particular stone, a large one that rested at the top of the wall. Who put that stone there? My mind began to wander.

The farm building s below had been rebuilt several times since 1540.every time fire burned them to the ground, new ones had to be built.

But the wall defied fire, snow and ice. When was it built? I wondered. And who built it? Nil in the 1800s? Ole in the 1700s?

I felt a tingling shock run through my body. I suddenly felt as though I had placed that stone there. Someone with the same blood, the same heritage had wrestled that stone and helped build the wall.

In a flash I relived the same pleasant sensation I had felt here as a boy. I knew what caused this feeling. I felt as though I had come home! For the first time, I understood the meaning of family.

Times change, buildings collapsed, people move. It makes me sad to think of people who have never met their won grandparents, or whose knowledge of family has been lost.

I'll probably never see the Seter again. But in my mind's eye will always be the large stone at the top of the wall. On a mountain farm in Norway that stone will remain a symbol of family perseverance; a symbol of our permanence; a symbol of the eternal.

不再成天混88，于是很少再Ctrl+F。这会儿再顺手zz一把，马上就可以过去看个究竟了。友情提醒，老美的贫困线标准大致是单人低于全国人均收入的1/4，或者家庭低于1/2。

zz 美国快照：形形色色数据 现实生活写真  from WSJ

除了诸如美国人口总数（截至周二晚7时为299,599,204人）和年收入过10万美元家庭的百分比（去年为17.2%)之类的数据之外，还有哪些数据能让人们更真切地了解美国经济的真实状况、观察美国社会的最新细节以及不同群体之间的差别呢？

本周二，美国人口普查局(Census Bureau)公布了一年一度的抽查数据。同时，人口普查局还提供了2005年人口最少为65,000人的不同社区的详细情况。

从中我们可以看到各州和各地的大量最新信息以及让人惊奇的事实。下面就是其中一些例子：

-- 新泽西州卡姆登市，这个案件频发的城市2005年的贫困率为44%，在中、小城市中位居“榜首”，但德州农工大学(Texas A&M University)所在地德州College Station的贫困率也是如此。德州农工大学房地产中心的经济学家吉姆•盖恩斯(Jim Gaines)说，这的确让人非常吃惊。

-- 在人口超过25万人的县中，家庭收入中值最高的三个县都位于哥伦比亚特区附近，分别是弗吉尼亚州的劳登和费尔法克斯两县及马里兰州的霍华德县。

政府合约继续给这一地区提供着高薪工作。费尔法克斯县经济发展局负责人盖洛德•戈登(Gerald Gordon)说，这一直是我们的经济支柱。

-- 去年，15岁至44岁之间单身男性与单身女性比例最高的分别是内华达州(120.2:100)、北达科他州(120.1:100)和阿拉斯加州(118.9:100)。比例最低的是哥伦比亚特区(93.4:100)。

-- 去年纽约州的上班族平均每天花在路上的时间最长，为31.2分钟，然后是马里兰州和新泽西州。南、北达科他州花在路上的平均时间最短，只有16分钟。

-- 新的统计数据还将触角伸向了工作场所。人口普查局称，去年在所有州和地区，女性的平均工资收入都低于男性，但在哥伦比亚特区的差距最小，女性的工资是男性的91%。

从行业来分，在金融和保险行业工作的女性去年的收入约为男性的55%，是所有行业中差距最大的。

收入数据不但根据20个主要行业进行了分类，还细分了22个主要职业。在“法律职业”中，男性的收入中值为102,272美元，但女性的收入低于这个数字的一半，使法律职业成为男女收入差别最大的职业。

美国律师协会(American Bar Association)主席卡伦•马蒂斯(Karen Mathis)在声明中称，同其它许多领域一样，法律部门中辅助性岗位的员工多为女性，这就拉低了女性收入的统计数字。马蒂斯指出，美国律师协会意识到法律职位中同一职位水平的男性和女性之间收入存在差别。马蒂斯指出，根据劳工部(Labor Department)的数据，去年全职男性律师周薪的中值为1,748美元，而女性律师则为1,354美元。

-- 总体而言，去年经通过膨胀因素调整后的收入中值水平男性为41,400美元，而女性为31,900美元。女性与男性的收入比为77%，同前几年持平，但高于1980年时60%左右的水平。

-- 人口普查局的数据显示，在美国大中城市中，加州圣何塞和德州普莱诺的居民年收入中值最高，均为71,000美元左右，而迈阿密和克利夫兰最低，还不足25,000美元。

-- 在大城市中，克利夫兰的贫困率最高，为32.4%，其次是底特律，这两个城市都受到了美国汽车业和制造业低迷的打击。Detroit Urban League的总裁兼首席执行长查尔斯•安德森(N. Charles Anderson)说，我们一直非常依赖汽车业，而三大汽车巨头近年的情况很不好。

上述大部分数据来自每年收到的大约300万美国家庭的调查问卷。如果要了解具体地区的最新数据，可登陆http://factfinder.census.gov。在American Community Survey一栏下点击“get data”。选定“2005”年，然后点击“data profiles”。用下拉菜单选择地区。点击“show result”。当统计数据出现后，点击“economic”或“social”获取更多内容。

Christopher Conkey