Today is the first day back to the office after my holiday. There was very little evidence that I’d had one, except that I’d become one shade darker. One unsuspiciously cloudy day without sunscreen was apparently enough for the sun to leave its mark, very much against my wishes. I don’t like being tanned at all!

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。