I know life is dramatic and unpredictable. But not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that one day, while sipping cider, with the misty wind from Carbis Bay in Cornwall caressing my hair and face, I’d be helping my former colleague revise a paper that I drafted eight years ago.

I started weight training about 1.5 years ago. I started as I wanted to gain muscle and be stronger physically, which was not achievable by what I already enjoyed doing (e.g. swimming, yoga).

If you’re one of my regular readers, you’d notice that I’ve almost stopped blogging for some years. Beneath the mundane excuses – that I’ve become busier being a mum and a researcher, there is a more fundamental reason. That is my struggle with languages.

I learnt the phrase “face the music“ more than two decades ago, and I’ve always wondered why on earth would music connote something ominous. Why music, of all things?

从平安夜开始头痛发烧，躺了6天，终于在2025年的最后一天回了点血，让我有能量回顾一下过去的这一年的高光与低光时刻。

今天是特殊的一天。大牛虽然还没到生日，但他在娘胎外待的时间（293天）已经超过娘胎内（291天）啦！这也就意味着，对我而言，怀孕似乎也是很久以前的事了呢。由于我不太想回想起自己圆滚滚的样子，所以孕期没怎么记录心境，现在想想颇有遗憾。所以趁记忆还新鲜，还是稍微记录下当妈后生活发生的变化吧。

以前写年终总结总喜欢长篇大论，细数心路历程。然后前几年感觉心力匮乏，就没写，错过了反思人生的好机会。今年发生了这么多变化，再不写有点说不过去，就多少说几句吧。

As a Chinese Londoner who has spent more than five years in this marvelous city, I’ve grown fond of one British institution: small talk. My initiation into this ritual was not so smooth. When I started my first job after my PhD in London, I faced a cultural shock. The company was extremely welcoming—I received more than a dozen coffee chat invites from colleagues in my first week. I was overjoyed, yet unease crept in. What on earth would I say? Should I talk about my research, the weather, or maybe what I had for breakfast?

As I was revisiting calculus, I stumbled upon two old friends: the concepts of local optimum and global optimum. Back in the day, I only encountered them when working through derivative formulas in uni. But now, they’re taking on a whole new meaning in my life.

When Claudia Goldin won the Nobel Prize for uncovering drivers of gender differences in the labour market last October, I was just about to start my second trimester.

Hey there! Welcome to the first of many daily musings where I dive into a chart or quote that piques my curiosity. It’s all about keeping things sharp, simple, and fun—whether it’s a nugget from economics, healthcare, or just a random fact from my hobbies. I’ll break it down, throw in a few thoughts, and leave you with ideas on how we can use it. Let’s get to it!

离开迪拜回家快10天了，游记居然还没动笔写。

2021年年底应老张好友磊叔之邀，去迪拜看世博。

依然是去年八月，我还写过另一首小诗。当时新冠伦敦疫情第一波刚过去，我以为到了秋天航线就会恢复。那样的话我就能回坡参加毕业典礼，再回国看看爸妈。结果一年过去，如今伦敦的夏又一次进入尾声，可直航依然遥遥无期…… 希望到了明天八月，我写的诗能换个心情。

现在很少洗照片，而没有老照片的提醒，也就不常追忆往昔。不过回忆经常追我——因为手机动不动跳出弹框，提醒我去年今日在哪里都干了些啥。于是不小心翻到去年这个时候写的一首诗。现在读来竟仍有共鸣，那就索性发布一下吧。

还记得去年3月老张跑了好几趟超市储备生活物资，生怕疫情期间断水断粮。转眼过了16个月，英国早已全面解封，甚至初步实现了群体免疫，连延期的东京奥运会都已开完闭幕式，把接力棒转交给了巴黎。国际大都市似乎都重新恢复了活力与元气。但捱过数月精神粮慌，一度觉得身边触手可及的美不够体验的我还是有点后怕——还是得趁解禁期间提早囤一点儿美，防患于未然。

我经常重看《指环王》。每每看到《双塔奇兵》里Arwen为爱放弃永生，把Evenstar项链交到Aragon手中的那一幕，我就深为感动。感动之余，我还会顺手谷歌一下Arwen的定情信物——清澈灵动，深情款款，实在无法抗拒！可惜搜出来的结果大多粗制滥造，买不下手。

前几天惊觉所有旅行纪念品都是义乌造，真正的地方特色越来越难寻觅，心中便充满怀旧的惆怅。好像特色已经无法通过踏破铁鞋来寻找了，只能穿越时间去找啦！

健康年轻人怎样才能打上疫苗

虽然Pfizer跟Moderna的新冠疫苗均已获批上市，但目前欧美国家只有高风险人群有权接种（印尼是18~60岁生力军先接种，而中国则是一线人员及出国留学经商人员可以接种）。我等普通人就算想花钱买也买不到，保守估计至少还要等一年才能轮上（难度堪比北京买车摇号啊）。可是我想早打早安心呐，有什么路子吗？还真有，那就是报名参加疫苗三期临床志愿者。

最近被十一黄金周报复性旅游的新闻刷屏，难以想象许多景点空旷无人的景象仅仅发生在半年多前。当时国内虽然实时汇总发布新冠日增数据，但很多人对数据的真实性依然存疑，我有不少同事都说不能全盘接受中国的数据，得对数据有个house view（内部评估）。

一场秋雨，冷却了最后一丝夏意。
一阵秋风，吹散了想象中的重聚。
收起长裙，打开暖气，买好了2021的新年挂历。
可机场，依然没有动身去。

居家办公三个月，腰腿胳臂几乎已经找不到存在感。全世界已降维成眼前的电脑屏幕，无论遇到多么迫切的事，我能做的回应都不过是敲敲键盘。

做家务是让我最头疼的事务之一。而洗碗是最让我头疼的家务。在巴塞罗那留学自力更生的时期，我通常根据洗碗繁琐程度来选择我该做什么菜。为了减少洗碗的数量，我经常把所有的菜都混在一起炒，这样只需要一个盘子就够了。我吃泡面最大的动机不是为了省时间，而是不用洗碗。在坡县四年，我高枕无忧地躲过了这件家务，因为坡县处处是食阁，我随时都能买到可口的饭菜，吃完只要把碗碟放到回收处即可。

今年年初，我同事Emily在加拿大启动了一个关怀教师的项目。项目内容很简单，就是每周给当地中小学教师发温馨短信，帮助舒缓他们的教学压力。项目启动不久就赶上了新冠，Emily本想中断项目，但想到疫情期间教师上网课也许压力更大，就决定继续坚持。

距离我上次理发已经过了快三个月。这个间隔已超过了维持我短发轻盈感以及保持刘海不遮眼的极限。伦敦虽然解封了，但理发店仍然不知道什么时候才能开，我只能继续翘首以待。而怀念理发的，似乎远不止我一个人。