signed lease for apt

My friend and I signed a lease for an apt today. We will move to there in next two weeks. The rent will start to be counted from Sept. 7, but we cannot terminate our current lease before Sept. 30. So we will lose about $650 in the rent.

It's my second lease after I came to the States and it will be my third or forth living place. We signed a one-year lease, which is the required minimum length. We already visited the apt at last weekend. It's not bad. The rent at LA is so high that I can't expect a perfect apt within my budget. The apt is new to us, but itself is not new. I heard from the agency that it's built at 1970s. It has been renovated few days ago.

I plan to move to there at the second next weekend. I checked the date. It happens to be a special date, 911.

new office

I moved to a new office today. It was used by another two students of my advisor. Both of them graduated this year and leave LA to other cities for their job. Last Friday I took dinner with one of them and helped her to move some of her luggages. She left LA on Saturday. The other one left LA today. Now I moved into their office. Another two students of my advisor will be my officemates.

Since I will be TA next quarter, I hope that I can keep my another office in my department. I need to give office hour at there. But the department may not allow me to use two offices. I am not sure about it now.

The new office is quite and nice, better than my previous one.

from LA to NY

My friend and his wife left LA to NY tonight. The husband will be a post-doc at NYU, which has a topmost institute of his major, also mine. The couple lived in a same building of mine. I met them almost everyday and sometime I took their ride from school back to home. They are so nice. I attended his graduation ceremony. I had my graduation at Beijing but it was the first time I attended such ceremony in the States. I took many pictures and videos for them. They were so excited. I was also happy for them. The graduate secretary told me: you will be here for yourself next year. But in fact I am not sure about it. I may be able to graduate at next year if I work out more results in my research, but I want to stay here one more year to learn more from my great advisor. I need to think about where I should go after my graduation. As usual I should apply for a post-doc position before I can find a tenure track. It doesn't depend on me where I can go. But if I have chance, I wish I can go to east coast after I get my degree. I had been to NY and other east coast cities at last year. NY is totally different with LA. LA is big and scattered. Too big. You cannot find many people walking on the street. When you want to go shopping, you may need to drive of take bus. I think LA makes people feel alone.

I don't have many impressions of NYC since I only spent short time at there. What left in my mind included the skyscrapers, crowds, and subway. It reminded me the life at Beijing. There're so many people crowded on the streets. You will never be alone. I talked with some strangers in the subway and the time square. I like to experience a life at NYC.

But I wish that I can come back to LA or other CA cities to continue my professional career. The weather at LA is so nice that I don't want to be away from it too long. I like LA although sometime I complained about it. And I like the people at LA.

I wish my dreams will come true in the future.

铁打的营盘流水的兵

晚上去送师兄夫妇。师兄毕业了，去纽约，postdoc。

昨天晚上大家一起吃饭，师兄师姐还有好几个一个专业的。师姐八月份要去minnesota了。

说起时间，真是匆匆而过。他们感叹的时候，我想起几年前我来到美国第二天，师兄和另一个师兄带我去一个体育场，他们打网球，我躺在草地上数飞机，听到他们告诉我的一句话：以后每次你看到飞机的时候，都会想什么时候才能回家。这句话后来我告诉了一个师弟。仿佛就在昨天。师弟后来转学去了maryland，也有一年了，他送我的相框还在我的箱子里没有打开过。那天网球后两个师兄要带我去看太平洋，我在一号公路的车后座沉沉睡着了。这一切仿佛就在昨天，而我已经成了老兵了。师兄师姐走了以后，我就是大师兄了。

昨天说要五点出发的，结果今天他们一直收拾到了七点，恋恋不舍地查了又查看了又看，才关上“那扇开关了两年多的门”。有一堆的东西送给了我，小到一个亲手打的硬币结大到一张queen size的床。师兄再三嘱咐这床是给我以后结婚预备的礼物，不能卖，只好留着了。太大了，现在在我的卧室角落立着，它昨天的主人正在飞往纽约的飞机上。

在机场check-in很顺利，除了交了一些超重的罚款。还有很长的时间就在那里站着聊着。我突然觉得，还是有点不舍的。几年来习惯了住在楼下的他和师嫂找我解决电脑问题借影视片，习惯了搭他们的车回家和他们聊天和师兄谈学习向师嫂请教生活。在机场说着说着突然就有点不舍了起来。说是也许寒假又可以见到了也许以后我也会再去纽约，但其实以后很难再见面的了。

我刚来的时候另一个师兄接的，他和今天这个师兄合租。今天聊到床的来历，那时候我有四个师兄同时去买床，然后那个寒假四个师兄同时回去三个同时结婚回来（接我的早了半年），都是通过介绍认识的有一个还是第一次见面加结婚，有两个现在已经升级了，不由又感叹时间好快。那个寒假我就住在师兄家里帮他们看房子，然后带抑郁的师弟去草地上躺着数飞机陪他想家。

我在机场的时候想起不到一个月前我也在那个地方送我原来的roommate一家回国。我和他们合住了两年半。再过正好十天我又要送一家人回国。这是一个离别的季节吧。想起了前几天说的，朋友就像韭菜一样，时间割了一茬，总还会有新的出来，但再不是以前那茬了。我觉得我是很恋旧的，每次看到朋友们离去都会有点伤感，仿佛不知道何日再见。事实也是那样的。我在中学最好的朋友后来全家去了厦门，我们有十年没有再见到了。大学时最好的朋友，出国后我也没有机会再见了。

铁打的营盘流水的兵。师兄把office的钥匙留下来，月底师姐走了以后我就是那个office的新主人了。而数年之后，我又会漂流到何方，有哪些新的朋友。我不知道。

明天醒来，就是新的一天了。

快乐很简单

讲一个我师兄这两天的事情。

他卖车，原来朋友告诉他能卖到4000，他开了3800，很快有人来了，好几拨，有一个阿三说3650。他就把其他人推掉了。也是没经验没收阿三押金，结果被放了鸽子。后来就很着急，因为要走了。价格一直跌，开到3200。

然后来了一个犹太人，贼精哪，先打听什么时候要走，师兄没经验说了实话，然后做mechanical check，非常好，但是那厮只开价2700，师兄从3200->3000->2900->2800->2750一直降，那厮50块都不加。师兄本来想卖了，最后一刻醒悟：tmd你这简直是在扇我的嘴巴。不卖。过了几个小时下午，来了一个老墨。师兄很没有信心很忐忑地开口3300。老墨还价3200，最后3250成交。

高兴坏了。

另一件事异曲同工。申请opt，一直没下来，结果这个月工资就不能取了。通知说10号去取，他11号要走的飞机，很紧张，很烦。结果昨天寄来了，工资系里在争取付给他。又是高兴坏了。

本来车要卖4000的，只卖出3250，好像亏了很多，那时候3650被涮就是很郁闷。但是现在卖3250很高兴，因为是和2700对比的。

本来opt早该到了却没到，拖到了昨天，应该很郁闷才对。但是和10号相比提前了不少而且不用担心来不及上飞机，因此很高兴。

人的幸福是和期望值对应的。
期望低一些，得到的满足就会多一些，快乐也就会多一些。
期望高一些，很多事情就可能不如愿，快乐自然也就少了。