The afternoon sun jumps into the window glass and onto my keyboard, bringing a bit more vitality to this cramped little room.
Every time the week is about to end, I always have a headache because I have to write a weekly report, either for work or for my blog. One of them is a real headache, while the other might be a fake one.
But even after racking my brains, I can still come up with something. After several rounds of internet-style summarization and processing, I condense it into a few short, clear sentences to summarize my work for the week.
But what about life? What remarkable things can there be in the life of an ordinary worker besides going to and from work? I ask myself.
But who isn't like that? Besides having a clear goal in our work, we are not sure what else to summarize.
When you think about it, you understand why biographies of historical figures are so monotonous—just a series of official positions. It's hard to see grand scenes like "Farewell My Concubine" or "Self-Decapitation at the Wu River" described by Sima Qian.
But I still see some things. These details form the world in my eyes.
I see a young man sitting on the back of his girlfriend's electric scooter, one hand carrying something, the other tightly embracing her.
I see a delivery guy who has worked hard climbing stairs, happily watching short videos when going downstairs.
I see an aunt at a roadside stall selling fried noodles, who not only packs them for me but also gives me a small orange.
You are the people you have encountered, the things you have touched, the emotions you have felt, the pain you have experienced, the old trees in your hometown, the street lamps on the roadside, the barbecue stalls you have eaten at... all the experiences that make up who you are in this moment.
Of course, I can't experience the life of the so-called "rising generation," but I still need a shared power bank for emergencies when I go shopping (instead of having to go to the car to charge 🐶). I dislike the cold and inhumane logic, such as the following quote from "The Nevar Book":
If you are going to live in a city for ten years, work in a job for five years, or be with a person for ten years, you should spend one to two years thinking carefully before making a decision. These are very important decisions, the three key decisions in life.
Here's my comment on this:
Economists seem to like "Robinson Crusoe," but did Robinson have a choice? He could only take one step at a time, slowly building up his life. Although he couldn't choose the island he was exiled to, he could choose his settlement, his tools, and his plans. It's the same for people. I don't think we have to trap ourselves from the beginning, hesitating because we haven't decided which city to choose. Even if you choose the wrong city, you can still choose where to settle, different communities. It's a series of choices, not just one major decision. Otherwise, it will be like an owl moving, always at a loss.
As usual, I should summarize and improve, come up with a concise statement that is thought-provoking (that's what I used to do), but I don't want to. I just want to record these irrelevant words for everyone's amusement.
This is the end of the weekly report.
📚 "Siddhartha," "The Nevar Book," "The Wind and Clouds of the Two Han Dynasties," "Elastic Growth"#
I've never been interested in these kinds of books. They usually have the following characteristics:
- They must be foreign, to give them a sense of style.
- The titles are usually directly transliterated names, making them seem high and mighty.
Of course, I'm very opposed to books like "The Nevar Book," but my attitude changed this week. I think it's necessary to read it with the mindset of watching a bad movie.
First, I spent more than an hour and quickly finished reading "Siddhartha." The translation of the text is beautiful and has a sense of rhythm.
But the content of the book is something you can guess from the beginning to the end, and as someone who has been influenced by Chinese traditional culture since childhood, the saying "Believe in Confucianism when you're proud, believe in Taoism when you're frustrated, and believe in Buddhism when you're desperate" is not unfamiliar to me. Siddhartha does everything and experiences everything.
After reading it, the first thing that came to mind was Jiang Jie's "Listening to the Rain." In just a few words, it summarizes the entire content of "Siddhartha."
As for "The Nevar Book," as I mentioned in the preface, I cursed at it while reading it. It's just a bunch of correct nonsense. Here are a few excerpts:
Don't work with cynical and pessimistic people. Their prophecies will become self-fulfilling.
Me: So, what's the point of knowing this? Can I choose who to work with?
Sometimes, even if you don't think it's a skill, the people around you will notice. Your mother or your best friend during your growth process will know what makes you special.
Me: But the reality is that few people are particularly good at something. The talents we show during our school years are nothing more than a result of a lot of practice, or relying on some memory, or spending some time.
To accumulate and develop expertise, you need to tap into your talents, study what you are truly curious about, and pursue your passion, rather than choosing a popular major at the moment and then entering the popular industry as proclaimed by investors.
Me: I understand the reasoning, but can you tell me how to do it?
What I want to say is that after careful consideration, you should soberly realize that you need to find the part of most things (interpersonal relationships, work, learning) that you can put in your full effort to obtain compound interest.
Me: So how do I think it through?
Ordinary people waste their time on short-term thinking, on meaningless and heavy work. Buffett, on the other hand, spends a year deliberating and then takes action in a day. His actions in a day can affect the next few decades.
Me: Try doing that once and see if your boss doesn't fire you.
(I won't say anymore, I'll go curse some more 🐶)
"The Wind and Clouds of the Two Han Dynasties" by Bohai Xiaoli also went on sale on WeChat Reading. I've been watching his history videos for 23 years, and I've learned a lot of history knowledge that I hadn't encountered before. I'll reread the physical book later. It's really enjoyable, really. Reading a bit more history feels much better than constantly reading those poisonous chicken soup advice.
Next week, I'll probably focus on studying "The Three Hundred Years of the American Civil War."
🎬 "The Annual Meeting Must Not Stop" & 📺 "Single is Hell"#
This is a great film, but it has a low rating on Douban. According to the usual attitude of Douban's critics, they would probably say:
Although it's good, it's just making some insignificant innovations within the framework of domestic films.
There's some truth to that, after all, when you watch it, you can tell that the ending was deliberately created to present a good outcome.
Aside from what those film review channels would say, there are a few scenes in the movie that touched me.
The first is the scene on the rooftop with the three characters. Jack Ma's speech and transformation, I didn't quite understand it, although the transformation might seem a bit abrupt, I always feel like the director buried something in it. I probably need to watch it a second time to understand.
The rice bowls of three hundred employees, far away on the horizon, or one's own wife and children, which is more important? This is undoubtedly another trolley problem. Fortunately, the struggle for rights gives people a glimmer of hope.
This brings me to the second point, the person I most want to talk about, Mr. Xu. Because we have the same last name, it reminds me of another person—Xu Jie.
He is a typical negative example in the eyes of literati. He is not short of money, but he is a bit idealistic (which is also mentioned by the female lead in the play). He wants the company to embrace the internet and quickly cut off ties with the old era through a quick and decisive approach. I can't help but imagine what it would be like if he succeeded, how it would be presented from his narrative perspective.
Think back to a thousand years ago, when Xu Jie overthrew Yan Song. In the eyes of historians, Yan Song was an unforgivable villain, but what if Xu Jie hadn't overthrown him?
We are always easily influenced by the narrative perspective of history. The reason why movies are movies is that most of them have an upward ending (of course, I'm referring to domestic films), while reality is difficult.
Enough about history, let's enjoy some love reality shows 🤣. Here's a picture of a battlefield, comparable to "The Last Supper."
Interpret it for yourselves, hahaha (pure love warriors fall to the ground in response).
📮 Newsletter#
From now on, all my records will be automatically synchronized to my personal channel, https://t.me/RayeJourney
But I will also excerpt some and put them on my blog: