An Impressive TV Commercial An impressive TV commercial may successfully promote consumers to buy the products; what's more, it may create a new trend. In the 1990s, a commercial made by a soy sauce company showed up on TV, arousing people's attention and imitation. From then on, Taiwanese started to BBQ in Mid-Autumn Festival, which was oriented from what the actors did in this commercial. The festival is a day for families to reunion, viewing the big round moon in the front yard. We also share the food, such as moon cakes and the pomelos. Thanks to the advertisement of barbecue sauce, now people have new activity to celebrate this historical festival. For the time being, it is not on broadcast, but the people remain this habit. That is to say, the commercial set up a new tradition for people to follow. Wise consumers may criticize that all is business tricks, and the audience is fooled. Nevertheless, in this case many families have fun in the BBQ activities, especially for the kids. We have to admit that successful marketing commercials not only persuade us to buy, but encourage us to make some change even in the cultural behavior.

On Luck Luck plays a role in many occasions. One occasion is when we fall in love with somebody, not knowing whether his/her mind is as same as ours. Maybe we are so lucky that we find our true love, once and for all. However, many love stories refer to sad stories. Before meeting the right one, we may meet a few wrong people, that brings sweetest joy as well wildest woe. That is, we have to keep our hope and try our luck until the day when two hearts share one body and two souls turn into one mind. Another occasion is when we choose a job, and the job chooses you. Before we get in a certain position, it is often vague whether we are qualified for the work and if we can enjoy in it. Similarly, the boss may not have sufficient time to know more about us. Therefore, we have good luck if we successfully pursue a dream job that is consistent with our ambitions and life plan. On contrary, we may be unlucky that we find ourselves unsuitable for that kind of work. What's worse, our work efforts receive lower wages than they actually deserve. Are there ways to help us avoid bad luck? The answer is "yes". As far as finding a soul mate is concerned, remember not to shed tears when we miss the sun, or we'll also miss the stars. Try to love and be lovable person, and the best things will come when we least expect them to. As far as our jobs are concerned, we can make efforts to excel in what your dream job requires, and do comprehensive research before you decide to attend a job interview. To sum up, as the above discussion shows, luck will be with us if we are well-prepared for the occasion. Good luck to us!

A Good Way to Overcome Depression There are many challenges and obstacles, success and failures among our lives. Nevertheless, we have to fight against those ups and downs. Deal with them and be the master of your emotions, such as depression and sorrow. We have to take control of our emotions, instead of being slaves of them. As far as I am concerned, the best way to overcome depression is more reading. Reading is an interaction between the books and us. Good books may grasp you with fascinating plot and captivating scenes, tell you others' life story and their struggle, inspire you with those simple but powerful wisdom that you've forgotten for a long time, and so on. You'll find out the real world and your own spirit are far more tremendous than you've imagined. Therefore, you'll be willing to spare your time and energy from worries, troubles and miseries. The method is very useful for me. My life is benefit from reading a lot. It deepen my thought and broad my views. What's more, it helps get rid of negative thought and arouse the energy to go forward. When I'm confused by questions, a variety of answers has been waiting for me in the books. Nowadays, more and more people get used to find solutions through the Internet and their social networks. These may be very helpful, too. However, we should be aware that virtual relationships and meaningless communication may make your emotion problems worse. To sum up, reading is a good method to cure our vulnerable spirits, nourish our mind, and help us become better, stronger, and happier people. Next time when you feel a little frustrated, just calm down, pick up a book to read, and enjoy the tranquility in your mind. Let's give it a try.

A short message about the culture 2013/3/17 Hi, dear friend! Nice to hear from you. I think the 5 relationships of Confucianism you mentioned are originated from "五倫"(父子有親、君臣有義、夫婦有別、長幼有序、朋友有信。) We Chinese have been taught to follow these rules since ancient times! You may think it quite different from westerners, who are more independent and equal when it comes to human relationships. We regard ourselves as a member of the family or the country, taking the responsibility for the culture inheritance. We are not so self-reliance as you; instead, we are expected to play a role which matches the requirement of the position. Thus, under a relative stable and fixed culture atmosphere, our behavior and action tends to appeal to authority rather than reason. However, the modern Chinese might have been changed a lot. Nowadays, we still emphasize the importance of loyalty and acting in good faith, but the obedience to power and the institutionalized hierarchy has been dampened.

Jottings 2013/3/16 Do you thinks it's better to discuss public issue in an open platform? If it arises some potential people's interests, the issue will be discussed much thoroughly. On the contrary, if we discuss with familiar people, we will get some advantage, too. Firstly, we can make sure that question will be taken seriously by our good friends. Secondly, we can expect a certain type of replies if we're acquainted with those friends' thought. Thirdly, share opinions privately will improve the relationship and mutual understanding.

Is discussing the best policy? Is discussing the best policy? Since our teenage, we are taught the importance of discussing and we should exchange ideas and thoughts with each other. We do try our best to discuss with our classmates, professors and dearest families. However, what if we come across that people keep complaining about their suffering? It’s very possible that they only want to speak out instead of a real solution for their problem. In those cases, I think the best way to do is just listening until they ask for some suggestions. Besides, when we run into people who always hold the opposite opinions from us, should we stick to ours points of view and go all out to persuade? If those kinds of discussion would no exception lead to unreasonable quarrel, I think a smarter strategy is to listen attentively. Thus, we can see the value of both sides and reach mutual understanding. After all, a discussion would not necessarily reach the only one correct answer. * thank you for any corrections and comments.

The Gap Between Education and Labor Market: A Taiwan Experience Nowadays, almost every Taiwan student wants to get a university degree. The low fertility and the redundant establishment of universities make higher and higher enrolment ratio. While the youth are high educated, they suffer from unemployment and low wages. Meanwhile, the enterprises face severe problem of structural vacancy of employees. Many scholars acclaimed the problems mentioned above are rooted in the insufficiency of technical and vocational education. In my country, there’s kind of credentialism. Many of our teenagers work hard to obtain a diploma instead of learn practical skills or get well-training. Therefore, what they learn from school is often alienated from the labor market. As Douglas mentioned in his essay, there may be some problem of resources distribution between public and private schools. So are the challenges we encounter in Taiwan. The disadvantage schools are not able to afford a better environment of learning and appropriate teachers, especially when it comes to vocational training in school. What’s worse, in our traditional perception of education, those who are enrolled in vocation schools are mostly underachieved students. It’s time for us to rethink of the value of education, and to make some reform of education system. Most of us should not pursue advanced diploma without the linkage with industries.

Happy Valentine's Day 20130214 In Chinese speaking, "2013" interestingly sounds like "love you forever(愛你一生)". In addition, 2013/02/14 means "love you forever and ever(愛你一生又一世)" . Accordingly, we Taiwanese pick up some days in this year which have an auspicious meaning by the sound to speak out our love. Many couples intend to get married in this lucky year. The gift stores, the restaurants, and mobile operators, etc., are benefit from these good days. So are those who is too busy to think of their darlings on ordinary days. They are reminded and encouraged to express their emotions and feeling. Let's hitch it! 20130214! :)

Diary20130213 Do you think that your family atmosphere, especially your parents' relationship dramatically affect your personality? I think the answer is "YES". These days my family went on a trip to Taichung. However, my Dad and Mom keep on their controversy ,quarreling all the way. Since my childhood, I often find it difficult for them to communicate with each other. Despite of LOVE, there seems something irreconcilable between them. As a result, I feel uncomfortable with unreasonable clash of opposing views. When the people disputes, I always try my best to lessen the pressure of conflict. I try to understand how the antagonism arises between the both sides, and how can peace negotiations reach an mutual understanding. Aiming at compromise, I'm eager to satisfy various interests among people. One of my best friends ever noticed me that I can't and shouldn't please everyone or all the standpoints.Every rose has its thorns. Maybe I get some advantage from such personality, I should be aware of losing my own opinion at the same time.