Friday, June 26, 2009

飽求婚: as the closing credit rolls

這一段是發生 Peter 的 facebook 影片後的一小段。
在影片最後,你可能有聽到 Peter 說海報背面有 Peter 密碼,是什麼呢?在拍攝影片結束後,我們把海報翻過來給 Jesu 和 Lydia 看。在不同的角落上有個別寫字,寫得不大,有「敢」、「思」、「不」等字,拼起來是「請三思」和「勇敢說不」。呼籲 Lydia 不要衝動,要考慮清楚呀!嗯,Lydia 這時候才看到已經來不及了吧。哈 :P

那是我們畫海報的時候想要故意寫來作弄他們的,不過想說求婚只有一次,不要惡搞,所以寫在背面。

看完密碼之後,海報的製作群在海報背景面畫手印、簽名。紀錄完成功德一件。(也許 Lydia 覺得不是功德啦 :P)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

飽求婚: The Making of

這一篇超 lag 的呀。因為實在寫很長,我只能自己慢慢寫慢慢記錄。

話說我們在四月 Easter 期間有去 Hamilton 和 Waitomo 玩兩天一夜。在 Hamilton 的那一天晚上... you know what happened. 請看 Peter 在 Facebook 上放的影片。
所以 Jesu (要正名為 Ming 嗎?下次吧) 突擊地下賭場,並且把一個穿睡衣的賭客變成未婚妻。(錯誤,大誤,請看影片了解真相)

So, 這場求婚記上演之前是怎麼準備的勒?以下是從我的角度來記錄幕後的過程...

我某天在公車上接到 Jesu 打來的電話,問我能不能幫他忙,我不知道是要做啥,故意先說不要。接著他說他想在 trip 的時候求婚。我沒想到他這麼快就要結婚了,先愣了一下,又是驚喜。喔,是這樣的話這個忙就不能不幫啦!所以Jesu就找我一起計畫求婚的setup。

不過我那一陣子沒空,好不容易忙完後開始計畫,一開始的時候先 brainstorm 一些不同的方式,像是我就說要在 Waitomo caves 裡面,不過 Jesu 想要穿西裝拿花,在 cave 裡面的話限制很多。Jesu 提議參考一個網路上看到的影片,把女生帶到停車場,把車子的後車箱打開,裡面滿滿都是氣球。我覺得這怪怪的,把後車箱打開,然後勒?我想像的是看到車箱內有一具屍體,像是在 CSI 一樣;或是打開後車箱,然後拿啤酒出來,大家在車上喝 :P 反正我不懂打開後車箱要做啥,不懂為何在停車場這個場景,更不知道有什麼藉口可以把大家帶去停車場。

在出發一週多前,星期五的時候,Jesu請半天假,下午跟我和Peter去買東西和商討計畫。買了氣球、象徵性戒指、和寫標語的板子。那天我跟 Peter 像是天使與惡魔,例如在找戒指的時候,Jesu 想說是不是要買一個大的誇張的,我說是是是,越大越好,Peter說感覺太搞笑,找一個類似她想要的樣式的戒指比較好。Jesu 最後是參考 Peter比較合理的建議。啊,我沒有要幫 Jesu 呀,我完全是在考量最後YouTube影片的爆點呀,啊媒體是亂源哪。

除了買東西,再來就是要想一個計畫讓 Jesu surprise 進場。嗯,要在哪裡呢?晚上在餐廳裡?有可能,可是在餐廳裡可能無法控制的因素太多,場地不適合,人太多或什麼的,所以沒有選在餐廳。事後回想,我還滿希望看 Jesu 在餐廳裡把小抄拿出來唸的時候其他客人的反應。 :P 我們三人想一想覺得還是在住宿地點比較有機會 set up 東西,Peter 和我都不喜歡停車場這個場景,那就是在房間啦。可是Lydia跟大家一起行動,要怎樣趁 Lydia 不注意的時候把東西準備好呢?道具藏在哪裡呢?是放在我車上,還是Jesu房間,還是另一間?那之後誰要去拿? Jesu 要換衣服要去哪裡拿西裝去哪裡換?我們大致上討論出來的是要
把大家都帶去其中一間房間,然後有人要找理由離開房間拿道具,Jesu要出來換衣服,又要不被發現。我們思考有什麼理由要單獨離開房間呢?去買東西?去隔壁房間拿飲料?最後敲定是說 Jesu 去隔壁上廁所。咦?這樣行嗎?據說 Jesu 常常在別人家蹲廁所,所以這應該滿自然,不會被懷疑,我是平常沒在注意我朋友上廁所的頻率,反正他們說這理由很合理。

我們還有討論海報要寫什麼,是 Marry Me 還是 Say Yes ,是嫁給我還是台語的嫁乎伊。是不是要切成兩張,兩個人拿。到了五點左右,Jesu 先走,假裝下班了,同一天晚上,大家聚在 Peter 家,要假裝下午沒跟 Jesu 碰面,我提早到 Peter 家也說是同學順便載我來的。啊 Peter 還提到海報和當天 Jesu 車子壞掉的方向燈,嗯,有些破綻,不過,還是沒有被揭穿。晚上 Andy 載我回家,我和 Andy, Alice 在車上時就提了這件事,懇求 Alice 幫忙畫海報呀。

星期日,這是出發前的最後一個週末,就只有這時有機會畫海報了,而Jesu週末一直跟 Lydia 在一起,沒空溜出來準備。Alice, Andy, 我集合到 Peter 家畫海報。我在美術方面真的是留在小學程度(or 幼稚園),大家一開始說先各自在紙上畫自己的想法,再來看看要選哪一種設計,幾分鐘後,大家各有草稿,我沒idea,只在紙上重複畫圈,說這是 The Ring (西洋版)。 Alice 的構圖是一隻河馬的頭在一顆大愛心的上面,果然會美術就不一樣,我盯著空白的板子只會想說到底要寫 Marry Me 還是 Say Yes。大家覺得 Alice 這張很好看,所以決定用這個構圖。大家開始用鉛筆畫outline,塗塗改改,愛心太尖了或是左右不對稱,擦掉重畫;河馬的鼻孔看起來像眼睛,讓河馬看起來像是有兩張臉,修修線條,這段實線那段留白。我這天的角色基本上就是監工,只是在大家猶豫的時候說幾句「OK的啦!」,讓大家有信心畫下去。還有加上擦草稿線和著色這種比較工程的工作。喔,還有帶蘋果汁給師傅喝。師傅很專業,道具都是師傅準備的,麥克筆啦、彩色鉛筆啦、還有一本 POP 字型的參考工具書。別問我,我根本不知道什麼是 POP 字型好嗎?Anyway,就這樣一部分一部分完成,幾個小時後,產生了最後在求婚過程中關鍵的海報呀!這一張海報就放在我的後車箱,準備之後旅行時載去。

出發前幾天,我在大學時 Jesu 打電話給我,他訂好花了,問我看要何時去拿,問我要不要他先去拿,接著載來市中心給我,我再捧回家。我想說拿著花坐公車太麻煩了,最後是決定 Peter 當天早上去花店拿花,我再去 Peter 家載他和把花藏在我的後車箱。不過我們原本說好當天是 Jesu 去載 Peter 再跟我這部車集合。現在有變動又要編個理由,所以就想說當天我要假裝傳簡訊給 Jesu 說我太早出門,所以就順便去載 Peter。關於這束花,據說是特別選的,有粉紅和白色的玫瑰以外,還有 Lydia 喜歡的花還是什麼草的?這部分我不太清楚,據說 Peter 之前在跟 Lydia 談話之間套話問她喜歡什麼花,我也不知道他怎麼做到的,我想像不到聊天要怎麼聊才會聊到喜歡什麼花。

週五,出發前一天,我傳簡訊連絡一下 Jesu,一開始 Jesu 回簡訊說 Lydia 在旁邊,不能談。隔了幾個小時,Jesu終於回電,Jesu 說,這次收到簡訊後 Lydia 一直想看簡訊,他要一直不讓她看,兩人還差點吵起來,真是危險呀!Anyway,我們討論了一下明天藏花、道具的事。還有我工程師的訓練,就要想到 error handling,要考慮失敗的時候要怎麼辦,所以要考慮的是,如果 Lydia 在我們設計的時間前就發現 Jesu 的計畫的話,那是不是就要當場開始。嗯,如果真的被發現的話,這樣做大概是最好的方法了,但是我們希望不會例如一開始在超市/麥當勞的停車場集合的時候就被發現,那一下子就要在停車場求婚。也許這種情況 Jesu 就可以打開後車箱拿啤酒出來 :P

Easter Weekend 的星期六,終於要出發了,照著劇本傳個簡訊說要去載 Peter。在 Peter 家想辦法把花放在後車箱,又怕壓壞又怕倒了水流出來。Peter也把其他道具放上車,忽然收到 Jesu 寄來的簡訊問我們好了沒有,因為我幫他們來載 Peter ,所以他們也提早準備好,已經在停車場等我們了。所以我們也就快快上車開去集合,停車場碰面時,我特別把車子停得稍微離 Jesu 的車遠一點,車頭面對他們的車,這樣子打開後車箱的時候才不會露出車裡的道具。出發時 Peter 坐 Jesu 的車,結果他們彎回去 Peter 家拿東西,因為 Peter 只顧著放道具到我車上,他自己的行李忘了帶,還得回去拿,據說被糗得很慘,Peter 很想說出真相,但是為了朋友還是忍下來呀!

我們在 Hamilton 先逛 Hamilton Garden,之後到了住宿的地點,嗯,先小心觀察隔壁房的動靜,趁他們還在隔壁房的時候去把道具拿進我們房間,花還是先放車上,之後 Jesu 溜出來的時候再去我車上拿,不過這也代表我要找機會給 Jesu 我的車鑰匙。這時我們打電話叫 Peter 過來,一邊藏東西,我也順便把第二把車鑰匙給 Peter,讓他交給 Jesu。還沒藏完東西,最難偷偷搬進房間也最難藏的就是那一大張海報了,而且我們最後這個設計一整張是沒有分割的,這麼大一張,我們把它藏在雙人床下。還有 Jesu 的西裝,要放哪好呢?不對喲,西裝放我們這間的話,Jesu 溜出去的時候就沒辦法換西裝了。西裝應該要放他們的房間,可是 Peter 回房間的時候手裡也不能拿著這一袋,會太明顯,所以說好,等下出門去吃晚餐時,Peter在那一間要留到最後,我們這一間最後的時候要趁這個空檔把西裝交給 Peter 讓他藏在那一間。結果,要出門時,Lydia一直擋在門口看我們好了沒,我們就一直在門口 awkwardly 耗著,最後 Lydia 終於先走一步,我才把一袋衣服丟給 Peter。

晚餐吃飽飽回來之後,就依照計畫,我們打電話叫他們來這我們的房間打牌。Andy 已經觀察好地型,要讓 Lydia 坐在背對門口的單人床上。他們進來我們房間後,Lydia 果然先跳到雙人床上,somehow Andy 就很自然得叫 Lydia 移到單人床上,面向另一個方向。從另一間過來的 Lydia, Jesu 和 Peter 都已經洗好澡,換了睡衣了,這下可好,等一下有人會跟穿西裝的看起來差別很大。現在大家開始表現正常得打牌,玩的是五人的拿破崙,所以有一個人只能旁觀。我們定的規則是輸的人要下場,如果拿破崙沒達成叫到的合約,拿破崙就下場,如果拿破崙吃足牌數,那對方三家吃最少張牌的要下場。玩了幾場,Jesu 滿常下場休息的,我想說正好,這樣他就趁機會去換衣服拿花,可是他一直躺在床上休息,而且一直叫我們其他人去洗澡。看Jesu沒有動作,我們這一間三人也輪流去洗澡,這樣大家都穿睡衣,Jesu你滿意了吧。嗯,遊戲繼續玩下去,一個多小時過去了,Jesu怎麼還是沒有行動,其他三個知情的人可能也有同樣的疑問吧?

終於,這一次Jesu下場後,說要回去房間蹲廁所,我們也附和幾聲說不要弄臭我們這間廁所,去另一間,Jesu就依照計畫出去,去我車上拿花,回他房間換西裝。再打了一兩場牌,Jesu還沒回來,Lydia說:「你們有沒有發現杜xx掉到馬桶裡了?」(名字消音) 我們心裡有數,跟著附和。一副牌打了一半,聽到了敲門聲,我去開門,進門的是穿著西裝捧著花的Jesu。目前 Lydia 背對著門還沒看到。Jesu走到床邊,Lydia回頭看,嚇一大跳,我們其他四人快快就位,Andy 拿相機錄影,我拿相機照相,Peter準備從床下拿海報上來。

接下來的畫面就是 Peter 在 Facebook 上放的影片。這邊只簡單描述一下,詳細完整的過程還是看影片啦!Lydia先是移到床頭,不知道在躲什麼,可能沒有預期,太過驚訝了吧? Jesu 也緊張,跪下來開始講他那照理說應該感性的演講,還沒完整說一兩句話,Jesu就拿出小抄來看!大家傻眼。大家聽不懂他講什麼,只聽懂結尾的一句「你願意嫁給我嗎?」這時 Peter 把海報高高舉起秀出河馬 Marry Me! Lydia 終於鬆口說OK!

喔耶,成功!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

把第一次獻給金曲歌后

一陣子沒更新,決定學習立委、市議員只挑力氣少就有作秀效果的事。
I've never embedded videos in my blog before. As I said a long time ago, embedded videos made the page slow to load, especially for people in NZ with slow Internet services at that time. Years have passed. People seem to have faster Internet in NZ. So I guess I can embed videos occasionally.

我覺得第一次嵌影片不能隨便獻出去,心中一直保留給金曲歌后。



其實我是放了聽音樂用的,影像沒什麼特別。
而且,她真的有得金曲獎啊!
OK, I'm random.

Related Link:

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Deadline is extended

The deadline of the conference paper I'm writing has been extended for a week. Yay, it's good news for me because I've been stressing out about it for a couple of days. The problem is that I tend to look for details. So I want to figure out all the details to have a clear idea what to write. I've been stuck with some things that I can't figure out or decide. So it's been a slow process. Now I've got a bit more time to sort things out. :)

But I'll have to do some marking first tomorrow, though. I have to mark a few project reports and software. Hopefully I mark them fairly.

Monday, June 08, 2009

LC's Previous Bottom Meal

LC's Previous Bottom Meal is ... 火鍋!
因為 Korean BBQ 成為新任的最不想在外吃的餐。
嗯,最近這一個月把這兩樣都吃了。所以之後聚餐吃的都只會更好了吧!

我不喜歡在餐廳吃要自己料理的餐,我就是懶呀!雖然火鍋也是要自己煮,Korean BBQ 更花功夫照顧食物。換錫箔紙,怕吃到生肉拉肚子,又怕烤焦。換錫箔紙,而且爐子會噴油燙人。換錫箔紙,五個人一爐也烤得慢,這一餐吃很久。換錫箔紙,吃完一身都有烤肉煙味。換錫箔紙,而且每隔一會兒就要停下來做一個動作,換錫箔紙。

反正久久吃一次,體驗一下。明天會更好。

只為了下標題而寫這篇,早知道這個就可以佔一篇,就先不用寫今天的前一篇了。 :P
聽說 NZ's Next Top Model 已經選出來了。我一集都沒看過。

Workrave reminds you to take a break

I'm still busying writing a conference paper and marking some assignment reports and programs. So the long lagging post has to wait. I'm just taking a few minutes to write a short post. (It still got long. ha)

I've tried small software application called Workrave for a few weeks. It reminds me to take a break periodically. It works quite well for me.

The application can be downloaded from the official website: http://www.workrave.org/

It helps me to remember to look away from the computer screen and relax for few seconds every now and then. I find that I get tired more slowly. I have less eyestrain. The program is also supposed to help people to prevent or recover from RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury).

It's really simple. You set timers for the intervals that the program reminds you to take a break. One timer is for the micro-breaks, which is to pause and to let your eyes relax for a few seconds. The other timer is for rest breaks, which is to take a break for a few minutes after working for an hour or so.

The application is quite configurable so I can tweak it to make it suitable for my usage. Currently, I use a 10-minute timer for micro-breaks and take 15-second breaks. I use a 50-minute timer for rest breaks of 5 minutes.

It detects your mouse and keyboard input. So if you leave the computer for a moment. It detects that you have no input for a while, it assumes that you've taken a break and resets the timer. This is quite useful so it doesn't remind me again soon after I've just taken a break myself. However, one problem is that I often read documents when I work at the university computer. Because I don't use the mouse and the keyboard while I'm reading, it resets the timer. So, I turn off the function of resetting timer when no input is detected.

Another setting that I set differently for home and work is whether it blocks the keyboard and mouse input during breaks. I'm afraid that I may have more urgent operations to do when I work, so I turn this option off for my university computer. In fact, the program can block the screen too. I guess that forceful approach is needed for people who are recovering from RSI.

I guess many of us use computers for many hours a day. I recommend giving this application a try. You can get rid off it later if you find it annoying. Hopefully it reduces the physical strain of using computers over extended time.

Monday, June 01, 2009

Ice Skating

After weeks of delay by flu, back strain and whatever, we've finally gone ice skating. We hadn't done this for years. In Andy's case, he had never done it before.

The weird thing was, I got on quite well from the start. Somehow I managed to stand and skate quite steadily as soon as I was on the ice. I guess the years do make me wiser(???). I felt more relaxed and it made it easier to stay steady. I didn't know how to go fast, though.

Peter, Alice and Lydia had no trouble skating at all. Andy was new to this. He started by walking on the ice. He looked relatively steady for somebody who was just starting out. He kept saying his feet hurt, though. Jesu was like an old man on the ice. He skated slowly and often had to put a hand on the fence or on other people. Eventually he got better after a couple of hours. LC the stalker took two photos of the couple.


The phrase "in sickness and in health" came to my mind. I suggested that they should put them in the slide show on the wedding. They weren't keen. It's a pity that they didn't wear the yellow TYA T-shirts that they had in uni. That would be more nostalgia.

The guys all fell a few times, except maybe Peter. Andy fell big time as he tried to go fast. Oh, and Andy's feet hurt the worst. When we took off our skates, he found that he might have put the left and right skate on the wrong feet! :-o

One thing I don't understand is why some teenagers could wear short sleeves or shorts. Weren't they cold?

Oh, by the way, after we returned to Peter's place, Lydia somehow could break even or win over the house at blackjack. Then later, Jesu won the poker game. Yes, you read that right. We played Texas Hold'em and Jesu won. :-o