[ Journals] VII - Manage Your Emotions

You’ve been studying for hours. You feel burned-out and really need a break. You sit down to watch TV. Your mom comes in and yells at you: “You should be studying! Turn off that TV and get to work!” You feel angry and frustrated. So what do you do?

Everyone deals with emotions differently. Do you handle yours in a healthy way? Uncontrolled or suppressed emotions, especially anger, can hurt you—and everyone around you! The following tips will help you control your anger and other strong emotions.

Take a deep breath. Deep breathing will help relax you. It also forces you to slow down and let your mind catch up with your emotions.

Figure it out. Understanding what you’re feeling is the key to dealing with your emotions. Don’t worry about other people’s behavior. Figure out what you can do to help the situation that’s bugging you. Let your emotions motivates you to take positive action.

Get moving. Taking a walk or exercising provides a healthy way to use your emotional energy. It will also help relieve stress.

Laugh about it. No, humor doesn’t make your problems go away, but it can help you regain perspective. Tell jokes, find the funny movie. You’ll feel better and your problems might seem smaller.

Talk about it. Putting your feelings into words helps you trust and tell them what’s bugging you. Just make sure the person you talk to isn’t someone who will encourage your anger. And try to keep things in perspective; don’t just complain.

Take care yourself. Always eat right, exercise and get enough sleep. Emotions are easier to control when you’re well-rested and healthy.

Take responsibility. Emotions aren’t always under your control, but your actions are. So take responsibility for what you do; don’t blame others. That usually just makes the situation worse.

Learn to forgive. Most important, learn to accept and forgive yourself and others. Holding a grudge will hurt you more than anyone. Forgiveness may or may not heal a broken relationship, but it always heals the one who forgives.

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III. The reason I chose this article

[ Journals ] VI - Dell Breaks Your Laptop, Sends Replacement Full Of Pubes

Reader K's call to Dell tech support for his laptop resulted in the tech helping him break a different computer, then sending him a replacement laptop full of human pubic hair. After diagnosing a faulty power adapter with K's laptop, the Dell technician asked him to plug the malfunctioning adapter into his other, out-of-warranty Dell to confirm the problem. K was reluctant, but complied, and fried his old laptop in the process. To their credit, Dell offered a replacement; unfortunately, it had a full bush. Full email, with picture, below (photo is NSFL: Not Safe For Lunch).

So I rarely resort to complaints as I think I am an easygoing consumer, but this time Dell went over the line. Maybe I just needed to write this email to vent, but I think it may be worth a post on your site...
Recently my 1 year old Dell laptop stopped charging the battery, so I called technical support (still under 3 year warranty) to try to resolve the issue. The technician recommended trying to plug another Dell power adapter into the laptop to see if this was the problem, and surprisingly it worked - problem solved...send me a new power adapter and I'll be on my way.
Unfortunately here things took bad turn. The technician thought that it would be a good idea to try the faulty power adapter in my other Dell laptop just to confirm that this was the problem. I told him that this laptop was no longer under warranty and that I didn't really want to mess with anything else since we had already resolved the issue. He said that we had to confirm this before he could authorize a new adapter being sent to me. So I plug it in and ZAP! Burning smell, and my old laptop was fried - nothing could revive it. At this point I was worried the technician would hang up, but to their credit they stayed on the line and after about an hour finally agreed to replace my old laptop. At this point, I was rather satisfied despite all of the problems - I was getting a new replacement for my old laptop.
About a week later, I get my "new" Dell laptop. I open the case, and the instruction manual is bent out of shape, and I start to worry. I reach the bottom of the box, pull out the laptop, and first thing I see is the top is covered in scratches. Some people may say that I should be happy since I was getting a newer model laptop to replace an old laptop with no warranty. My old laptop, however, was in great condition. When I opened up the new laptop, I saw the screen was scratched and dirty, and the keyboard was covered in debris. Wait, not debris....what is that? HAIRS!? Not just any hairs - these could only be described as pubes. I hate to be so crude, but pubes are pubes. Not the incidental curly hair, but rather mini-tufts between the keys. My only guess is that Ron Jeremy was the previous owner. At this point, I called Dell back, and I have written this email in between talking to 3 different people and over an hour of hold time. Nobody wants to help, and I'm reached the limits of my tolerance for poor service.

At this point, I'm considering 3 options:

1. Vacuum it, douse it in alcohol, and just try to use it and forget about "the hedgehog"
2. Sell it and buy a new laptop
3. Go to the gym, run 3 miles, trim body hair directly over the keyboard, send laptop back to dell (this is the cleaned up version)

Any other ideas?


Well, although Dell may not be listening to Executive Email Carpet Bombs anymore, it doesn't hurt to try. Here is a bunch of Dell email addresses, here are some more, and here is one more. Include pictures of the fuzz factory in your email, hopefully it will gross someone out enough to get you a replacement.

PHOTO LINK:
http://consumerist.com/374402/photo-dell-breaks-your-laptop-sends-replacement-full-of-pubes

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II. Vocabulary words and phrases
i. new words/phrases
ii. useful / phrases

III. The reason I chose this article

[ Journals ] V - The Sweet Taste of Summer

　　During the hot summer months people everywhere count on the sweet and creamy taste of ice cream to cool them down. Whether covered in chocolate, blended into milkshakes, or served in cones, ice cream is always a hit. But where does this poplar dessert come from?
Some say the Roman emperor Nero invented ice cream to satisfy his sweet tooth. He is said to have sent slaves high into the mountains to bring back snow, which chefs would mix with honey and fruit. Apparently, Nero like the frozen sweet so much that he had special cold rooms built in his palace to store snow.
　　Another story says that ice cream was first invented in China, almost four thousand years ago. Italian explorer Marco Polo supposedly brought it back to Europe in 1295 after a long trip to the East.
　　There is a little proof, however, for eight of these explanations. What we do know is that, by the mid-1600s, English king Charles I was enjoying ice cream. Palace records show the dessert was a favorite at palace dinner parties.
　　From the king’s table, it didn’t take long for ice cream to become poplar worldwide. American presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were both big fans of the dessert. In fact, Washington paid almost US$200 (a huge sum in his day!) for a vanilla ice cream recipe.
　　The biggest problem with ice cream was how to serve the sweet treat. Most vendors sold it in tiny glasses called “penny licks.” However, customers often broke or stole the glasses, which cost vendors a lot of money.
　　The invention of ice cream cone solved this problem. Many people believe ice cream cones were invented at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. There, ice cream and waffle vendor combined their products and served ice cream in portable waffle cones. Records show, however, that ice cream was already being served in edible containers as early as 1888.
　　Today, ice cream is eaten from Taipei to Tunisia to Toronto. In most places, chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla are best sellers. In Japan, though, ice cream comes in an amazing range of flavors. Chicken wing, eel, or wasabi ice cream, anyone?

--by Francoise Raunet Landmark English August 2004
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I. Summarize


II. Vocabulary words and phrases

i. new words/phrases
supposedly adv. 據稱
edible adj. 可食用的
eel

ii. useful / phrases
count on 依靠
blended v. 混合; 調合
sweet tooth n. 甜食癖
recipe n. 食譜
portable

III. The reason I chose this article

　　The hot weather these days made me think the summer is coming! And speak about the summer, the first image jumps into my mind is ice cream! I love the melty, sweet sweat creamy ice very much, and I even can eat it in winter! I think my favorite flavor may be peanuts, macadamia nuts, and so kind of nuts.

　　Talk about the special flvors, I know a store in Hsi-men has it's own special flavors. There are not only chicken wings, but also pork and much more flavors I even don't have the courage to try a lick.

[ Journals ] IV - Que Sera, Sera (What will be, will be.)

Que Sera, Sera - What will be, will be.

When I was just a little girl,
I asked my mother, "What will I be?
Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?"
Here's what she said to me:

Que sera, sera,
Whatever will be, will be.
The future's not ours to see,
Que sera, sera,
What will be, will be.

When I was just a child in school,
I asked my teacher, "What shall I try?
Should I paint pictures?
Should I sing songs?"
This was her wise reply:

Que sera, sera,
Whatever will be, will be.
The future's not ours to see,
Que sera, sera,
What will be, will be.

When I grew up and fell in love,
I asked my lover, "What lies ahead?
Will we have rainbows day after day?"
Here's what my lover said:

Que sera, sera,
Whatever will be, will be.
The future's not ours to see,
Que sera, sera,
What will be, will be.

Now I have children of my own,
They ask their mother, "What will I be?
Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?"
I tell them tenderly:

Que sera, sera,
Whatever will be, will be.
The future's not ours to see,
Que sera, sera,
What will be, will be.

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"Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" first published in 1956, is a popular song which was written by the Jay Livingston and Ray Evans songwriting team.

The song was featured in Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 film, The Man Who Knew Too Much, with Doris Day and James Stewart in the lead roles. Day's recording of the song for Columbia Records (catalog number 40704) was a hit in both the United States— where it made it to number two on the Billboard charts—and the United Kingdom. From 1968 to 1973, it was the theme song for the situation comedy The Doris Day Show, becoming her signature song.

It reached the Billboard magazine charts in July, 1956. The song received the 1956 Academy Award for Best Original Song with the alternate title "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)." It was the third Oscar in this category for Livingston and Evans, who signature won in 1948 and 1950.



http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=R6WDdZ6xaPg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Que_Sera,_Sera_(Whatever_Will_Be,_Will_Be)

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I. Summarize


II. Vocabulary words and phrases

i. new words/phrases
alternate Adj./V. 交替; 輪流
lies ahead 在前方; 未來等待
signature N. 特徵

ii. useful / phrases
day after day 日復一日
situation comedy 電視連續喜劇


III. The reason I chose this article