于小鸡历险记（一）
This is an automatically translated post by LLM. The original post is in Chinese. If you find any translation errors, please leave a comment to help me improve the translation. Thanks!
Introduction
Sometimes, life brings us surprises. It could be a beautiful sunset we stumble upon while skipping class, or a blooming flower we wake up to. In this ever-progressing industrial era, we are all involuntarily caught up in the hustle and bustle. This is the deepest realization I've had since I entered graduate school and gained a deeper understanding of the world.
In this regard, my partner, Dou Dou, has brought me a lot of inspiration. There are two main points I have summarized: ① This world is truly vast, to the point where each of us is so insignificant in the face of society and the nation, feeling powerless. As the economy and technology continue to develop, the distance between the government, society, and individuals will become closer, and correspondingly, individuals will feel more powerless. ② Every inch of this world is precious, and we can always gain something by stopping to appreciate it. The beauty of a flower lies not in itself, but in the eyes that appreciate it; the greatness of a work lies not in the definition of the author, but in the reader's understanding; the significance of a photo album lies not in the precise pixels, but in the memories it contains. Life is not lacking in beauty, but rather the discovery and appreciation of beauty.
Anecdotes after the Spring Date
1
The Spring Date is a grand event during the spring and summer social season in the harbor. Every time, single men and women from various universities in Shaanxi Province gather here, hoping to meet the right person in their lives. To ensure the seriousness of the event, participants usually need to register in advance and sign a single guarantee agreement, and they can enter with their admission tickets on the day of the event.
On May 8, 2022, Bai Qi and Zi Yao informed me that this grand event was taking place at Milan Building. Out of curiosity, I made an appointment with Bai Qi to go together. Unfortunately, Zi Yao stayed at home that day and couldn't join us. Also, due to the pandemic, students from other universities were unable to come, which was a great pity.
When we arrived, it was almost time for dinner in the afternoon, and it was drizzling. We walked towards Milan Building and saw many disappointed faces on the men and women walking back from there. I couldn't help but sigh: the weather was just like the mood of these men and women. It was clear when they arrived, but became gloomy when they left.
Entering the venue (although we didn't have admission tickets, who would care about admission tickets when the event was about to end), the scene inside could be summarized as follows: most men and women were staying with people of the same sex, and only a few were interacting with the opposite sex. On the way back, I suggested that we bring friends to participate in this event next year. Bai Qi told me that it would be better to come alone, as with more people, we might only play with our companions who came with us. She was right, not only here, but also among the young people I could interact with. Interactions between men and women have become a difficult thing, something burdensome that must be done for the purpose of marriage, rather than for the joy that comes from interacting and playing with the opposite sex.
If the desire for the opposite sex brought about by reproduction is the most natural and primitive pursuit of human beings, then the discomfort we feel when interacting with the opposite sex nowadays is, in a sense, a regression. Of course, I don't want to go back to that primitive era. I just hope that at some point in the future, people can freely interact with others, regardless of whether they are of the same sex or opposite sex, for the sake of spiritual pleasure.
2
Last month, I bought a pot of gardenia flowers. When they were delivered, they were still in bud. This was my first time raising flowers, and I was full of hope for them to bloom. Finally, one morning, I woke up to a pleasant surprise.
Its blooming was sudden and splendid. At that moment, I felt the vitality of life. The beauty of a flower lies not only in its brightness, but also in the moment it blooms. In the future, I can try using time-lapse photography to capture the moment of blooming.
Good things don't last long. Due to the small size of the pot for the gardenia flowers, the nutrients inside were not enough. The flowers gradually withered, and although there were new flowers blooming later, only the newest one bloomed beautifully.
The blooming of flowers brings joy, while their withering makes us sigh at the cruelty of time. However, if I change to a larger pot and fertilize it in a timely manner, can I make all the flowers bloom with nourishment? It's worth a try.
3
Sometimes, surprises may not necessarily be a good thing. On May 9, 2022, while I was busy studying the "Beginner's Guide to Mining," I suddenly learned that the homework for the optimal control course was due the next day, and it involved four assignments. However, I have a habit that when I am immersed in one thing, I prioritize finishing what I am currently working on before dealing with other urgent matters.
As a result, my mining study didn't end until half past eleven in the evening. Finally, the computer could mine on its own. Looking at the running hash on the screen and the blank A4 paper I had prepared for the assignment, I couldn't help but feel that I was torturing myself.
In order to learn faster and complete the assignments, I went upstairs to find Lao Wang to work on them together. On the way, I remembered that Han Chi's workstation should be nearby, so I went to take a look.
Jerry is really cute!
4
I don't know if it's because I spend too much time looking at screens, lack of sleep, or frequently rubbing my eyes, but recently I often feel dryness and itching in my eyes. I decided to go to the nearby pharmacy in Xinghua to buy eye drops, but I kept forgetting to do so for a few days. Finally, on the afternoon of May 10, 2022, I remembered this matter, went to Han Ying Building for lunch, and bought the eye drops. However, these eye drops are quite unique in appearance.
To be honest, this is the first time I've seen eye drops in this form. I used to use the small bottle ones. But upon careful consideration, this kind of eye drops has its advantages. Firstly, it is a single-use package, greatly reducing the risk of contamination. Secondly, the individual packaging serves as a reminder for me to use the eye drops in a timely manner, rather than remembering it later like before. Overall, ergonomics is an essential aspect of product design, and having this kind of design is better.
Some Minor Matters after Film and Television Creation
1
"Film and Television Creation" is an elective course for graduate students at the Innovation Harbor. I was very fortunate to have enrolled in this course when it was first offered. The reason I initially chose this course was because the instructor was good-looking, and her educational background made me very curious (see Wang Yao - School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University (xjtu.edu.cn)).
The format of this course is as follows: 6-8 people form a group and complete the entire process of creating a microfilm. For the creative process of this film, please refer to Explanation of the Creation of the Film "ByteDance". I was very fortunate to be the leader of the group.
For a long time, I have dealt with many things on my own and rarely collaborated with others. Also, due to the fact that group assignments during my student days were often about getting a good grade rather than completing the project seriously, I didn't have much experience in leading and cooperating with others. This film and television creation project was different. There was no excessive pursuit of grades in this elective course, and the project itself also matched the interests of some members of our group. Therefore, I believed that we should put some seriousness into the filming of this microfilm.
Ren Zhengfei once said: "Being ahead is simple, just do better than others; being a leader is difficult, it requires leading everyone together." Being ahead and being a leader are two completely different things. Being ahead only requires doing one's own things well, while being a leader is different. Being a leader requires ensuring that everyone does their own things well. This involves matching abilities and tasks, and stimulating enthusiasm, etc., which are all related to people.
Firstly, it is important to mobilize the subjective initiative of the group members. I believe the best way is to make everyone a contributor to the creation, so that everyone takes the subsequent processes seriously. In other words, this is similar to a rule I once read about relationships: "A person's feelings depend more on how much they give, and less on how much they receive." For this reason, during the scriptwriting process, all members of our group participated and made contributions, and they identified with the script. This way, we wouldn't just go through the motions in the subsequent processes.
Secondly, there is the issue of division of labor. Fortunately, the members of our group are versatile, including photography enthusiasts, pet owners, video editing experts, film enthusiasts, and avid learners. Each person's individual abilities are not sufficient to produce a film with rich content, but when these abilities are combined, they can overcome the difficulties encountered in the creative process. In addition, reasonable task allocation is necessary, taking into account each person's schedule and individual abilities. However, the tasks in film and television creation are heterogeneous, such as writing the script, storyboarding, planning the shooting schedule, shooting, and post-production. The workload of these tasks will inevitably differ, which will lead to unequal task durations and fairness issues. Faced with this problem, I believe it is important to respect individual preferences. For the participants who are truly passionate about this film, even if it means staying up late to edit, they are willing to see their own results. As for the participants who are not willing to invest a lot of personal time, there is no need to overly criticize them. What needs to be paid attention to is not letting the latter affect the enthusiasm and dedication of the former, which requires constant attention.
Finally, the feeling of several people working together towards a common goal is great. Some people skipped group meetings for the sake of shooting, some actively prepared props and made good use of existing conditions to solve difficulties, some traveled a long way to assist us in shooting, some spent a day in advance scouting locations to ensure everything went smoothly on the day of shooting, and some took the time to edit the post-production meticulously. The whole process was arduous, but the result was beautiful. This experience of working together taught me a vivid lesson. Collaboration is a wonderful thing.
Finally, here is our film:
2
On June 1, 2022, I woke up early in the morning and heard the phone ringing. It was from Taikang Life Insurance. They have been calling me many times recently, but coincidentally, they always called when I was busy, so I never answered. Today happened to be a time when I had some free time, so I answered the call and had a chat.
The phone call was mainly about promoting their accidental insurance. I won't go into the details of the insurance itself, but this sales call reminded me of an experience I had about half a year ago when China Merchants Bank was promoting insurance to me. There was a significant difference between the salespeople in these two sales calls. The former didn't waste much time and, after obtaining my consent, explained the details of the insurance to me in detail and reminded me to record the key information of the insurance policy for future consideration. After the introduction, they sent me a document detailing the insurance plan for reference. In this communication, they didn't ask me to immediately apply for the insurance, but gave me enough time to consider whether I needed to purchase it. They called me back after a day and had a detailed discussion about the follow-up matters. In today's sales call, compared to the former, it seemed less professional. Firstly, the salesperson's speech was not clear enough, and his voice was not loud enough. I had to listen very carefully to hear what he was saying. After a brief introduction of the insurance, he also asked me to take notes, but instead of recording important information about the insurance, he asked me to write down his employee number. After this conversation, he immediately started confirming my personal information, including my name, age, etc. However, it was obvious that Taikang was promoting to me based on the registered information of my phone number, and the information they mentioned was all about my mother. This contradicted what they initially said about selecting high-quality customers for promotion. After confirming the basic information, they asked for my ID card number, bank card number, and other information to process the transaction.
I won't go into the details of what happened afterwards, but these two different sales experiences reflect the training of salespeople, the attitude of the company towards salespeople, and the importance of service in the insurance business. Personally, I would prefer to purchase insurance from the former salesperson. The entire process demonstrated respect for my personal preferences and respect for the contract. It doesn't necessarily mean that I will get a better contract in this situation, but as an individual, this kind of communication makes me more confident that when I encounter an accident, the personnel trained by such a company will be able to efficiently solve the problem for me. As for the latter, even if their insurance coverage is good, their approach in promoting it made me doubt whether the company that recruits and trains such salespeople would be able to respond promptly when I encounter an accident.
The above paragraph is biased. A good impression of a salesperson does not necessarily mean that the company's business capabilities are good, and a poor impression of a salesperson does not mean that their service will be bad. However, this is my personal feeling, which is an important factor in cooperation in our society. This feeling is reflected in many aspects. Teachers look for a feeling when recruiting students, employers look for a feeling when hiring employees, and individuals consider the feeling towards a brand when choosing products. When I was young, I always thought that this feeling was not important. I believed that good things would naturally be appreciated. However, as I grew older, I increasingly realized that sometimes this feeling could be the determining factor in the outcome of things. Therefore, feelings should not be taken lightly. If I were to start a company in the future, I would need to pay attention to this.