Have Pen, Will Write

[who_owns_death]

oh I forgot to add the last definition of torture. Torture is when I have to dodge the cold by staying home and replying to your thread on a beautiful Friday hahaha jk. Oh please correct my poor writing. I'll sue you for discrimination if you don't correct my English hahhahaa. It's a warning ^_^
PN

[Bear Lac Loi]

oh I forgot to add the last definition of torture. Torture is when I have to dodge the cold by staying home and replying to your thread on a beautiful Friday hahaha jk. Oh please correct my poor writing. I'll sue you for discrimination if you don't correct my English hahhahaa. It's a warning ^_^
PN

Who_owns_death (my goodness, what a name!) I'd take the chance of being sued and try to prove my innocence. I can't fix a good writing. ;)

[Bear Lac Loi]

At last, I have also placed my foot on the land of Sweden as my desire in the morning of a dreamy winter day. The city where I would be here for a long time looked as if still being in the sleep. Streets were deserted although it was 8:30am. This was such a big difference in comparison with things happening in Vietnam. I first came here and far from my family like that; but, I had no feeling indeed. Everything in me seemed to be empty. There was no sense of worry or happiness as I thought before coming.

Nevertheless, during later 2 weeks, I have had so many feeling in a jumble. As many overseas students, I have met difficulties in adapting to the life as well as study in a new environment. The living cost is quite expensive and seeking a room to rent or share is not easy. Then, it is study issue. I have been trying to habituate to new study method; but, it’s not simple when language, which is main factor, is still my obstacle. I feel so tired and lonely but always try to manifest that I’m ok when chatting with my family. I don’t want to let them worry about me. My mood has been changing erratically, sometimes strong and sometimes weak.

Jannie. After reading about your trip, I thought of mine and started telling my story without thinking about working on your writing. Here it is. It’s better to be late than never.

--- o0o ---

At last, I have also placed (set) my foot on the land of Sweden as my desire (as I had always desired) in the morning of a dreamy winter day. The city where I would be here (delete: here) (add: staying) for a long time looked as if still being in the sleep (asleep). Streets were deserted although it was 8:30am. This was such a big difference in comparison with things happening in (compared to) Vietnam. I first came here and far from my family like that; but, I had no feeling indeed (This was my first time in Sweden, far away from my family, but I felt nothing). Everything in me seemed to be empty (My thought was empty). There was no sense of worry or happiness as I thought before coming (as I had imagined before arriving).

Nevertheless, during later (for the next) 2 weeks, I have had so many feeling in a jumble (I had a jumble of feelings). As many overseas students, I have met difficulties in adapting to the (delete: the) life as well as study in a new environment. The living cost (the cost of living) is quite expensive (comma) and seeking a room to rent or share is not easy. Then, it (there) is (add: the) study issue. I have been trying to habituate (prefer: adapt) to (delete: to) (add: a) new study method; (comma) but, (delete comma) it’s not simple when language, which is main factor, is still my obstacle. I feel so tired and lonely but always try to manifest (prefer: pretend) that I’m OK when chatting with my family. I don’t want to let them worry about me. My mood has been changing erratically, sometimes strong and sometimes weak.

--- o0o ---

I wish you luck, Jannie. Hope you'll find the strength and achieve what you have set out to do.

:-)

[who_owns_death]

Cannot believe you even used to word INNOCENCE to describe yourself lol. You r not innocent but by noticing your language and the way you text, I can tell you are beyond cute tho lol. I guess I'll have to make more mistakes in my writing to grab your attention hohoho.

[Jannie2568]

Jannie. After reading about your trip, I thought of mine and started telling my story without thinking about working on your writing. Here it is. It’s better to be late than never.

--- o0o ---

At last, I have also placed (set) my foot on the land of Sweden as my desire (as I had always desired) in the morning of a dreamy winter day. The city where I would be here (delete: here) (add: staying) for a long time looked as if still being in the sleep (asleep). Streets were deserted although it was 8:30am. This was such a big difference in comparison with things happening in (compared to) Vietnam. I first came here and far from my family like that; but, I had no feeling indeed (This was my first time in Sweden, far away from my family, but I felt nothing). Everything in me seemed to be empty (My thought was empty). There was no sense of worry or happiness as I thought before coming (as I had imagined before arriving).

Nevertheless, during later (for the next) 2 weeks, I have had so many feeling in a jumble (I had a jumble of feelings). As many overseas students, I have met difficulties in adapting to the (delete: the) life as well as study in a new environment. The living cost (the cost of living) is quite expensive (comma) and seeking a room to rent or share is not easy. Then, it (there) is (add: the) study issue. I have been trying to habituate (prefer: adapt) to (delete: to) (add: a) new study method; (comma) but, (delete comma) it’s not simple when language, which is main factor, is still my obstacle. I feel so tired and lonely but always try to manifest (prefer: pretend) that I’m OK when chatting with my family. I don’t want to let them worry about me. My mood has been changing erratically, sometimes strong and sometimes weak.

--- o0o ---

I wish you luck, Jannie. Hope you'll find the strength and achieve what you have set out to do.

:-)


´¯).• ¤*•,¸.¸,¤*•,¸.¸, •*¤*•,¸.CHÚC MỪNG NĂM MỚI,•*¤*•,¸.¸, •*HAPPY•*HAPPY NEW YEAR *•,¸.¸,•*¤*•,¤*•,¸.¸ ,•*¤*•,¸.,•*¤*•,¸.¸, •*?,•*¤*•,¸.,•*¤*•,¸ .¸,•*?*¤*•,¸.¸,•* ..^^..

Dear Bear,

In these days, many people including Vietnameses around the world are celebrating New Year according to lunar calendar and I wish you and everybody on ESE website a prosperous and wonderful new year. Although my wishes are quite late because today is the fifth day; but, I hope they will come true to all of you :)

Then, I would like to thank for your correction. I'm so sorry for late reply due to my hard study in my university. Today, I have just fulfilled the first theory seminar's presentation with members in my group. We worked so hard and the outcome that took place fine made us pleased. Nonetheless, my mood has been in a jumble in these days. I had no new year's day in the true sense of word. Moreover, I faced lots of stresses in not only preparing for my theory seminar but also life. I sensed lonely and it's the reason why in the last day's evening of the year, I cried a lot when I made a conversation with my parents through the internet. I didn't know why the more I tried to control my feeling, the more my tears turned down. I, in fact, didn't want to make my parents worry about me but I did as a baby :( I missed my family indeed and the first time I wondered about my decision to come here. I felt I was so weak at that time. But, now I know that to live in the new environment has never been easy for everyone. There are so many things seemed simply but impacting to you yourself seriously. But, this is my choice and I don’t allow me to fail; so, I have been striving as possibly as I can.

Reading your story regarding to arriving process to the US let me look back to some sort of stories I have heard from overseas Vietnameses in this city (My host is an overseas Vietnamese so I was told a lot of stories) They also had to live in refugee camps in Philippine, Hong Kong and others before coming here. There were so many difficulties, which they had met. To have Swedish nationalities, some people accepted getting married false with others in 3 years, who had Swedish nationality. Of course, these people must pay a mount of money for this; then, they had to work so hard to settle their debt. Others worked and studied very hard when they came here, then gained successfully. They now own some restaurants and frequently back to Vietnam to do charity works. There are also other stories I heard but I don’t think I will list all here. In my judgment, each person has individual's circumstance and your story is such your significant experiences that I believe you will be unforgettable. With everything you experienced as I imagine, I believe that I have more dressing force to step forwars because all difficulties I met are so small.


Now, I will rewrite my previous writing, which was edited a lot as follows. :’’>

At last, I set my foot on the land of Sweden as I had always desired in the morning of a dreamy winter day. The city where I would be staying for a long time looked asleep. Streets were deserted although it was 8:30am. This was such a big difference compared to Vietnam. This was my first time in Sweden, far away from my family, but I felt nothing. My thought was empty. There was no sense of worry or happiness as I had imagined before arriving.

Nevertheless, for the next 2 weeks, I had a jumble of feelings. As many overseas students, I have met difficulties in adapting to life as well as study in a new environment. The cost of living is quite expensive, and seeking a room to rent or share is not easy. Then, there is the study issue. I have been trying to habituate (prefer: adapt) to (delete: to) a new study method; but it’s not simple when language, which is main factor, is still my obstacle. I feel so tired and lonely but always try to pretend that I’m OK when chatting with my family. I don’t want to let them worry about me. My mood has been changing erratically, sometimes strong and sometimes weak.


Bear, I have a query referring to red words. According to my dictionary, if I use the phrase of adapt I must add ‘’to’’ behind it but you said that I need to delete ‘’to’’ so it make me quite confused.

Thank you for everything. Hope to your reply soon.

Regards


:-)

[Bear Lac Loi]

Then, there is the study issue. I have been trying to habituate (prefer: adapt) to (delete: to) a new study method; but it’s not simple when language, which is main factor, is still my obstacle.

--- o0o ---

Bear, I have a query referring to red words. According to my dictionary, if I use the phrase of adapt I must add ‘’to’’ behind it but you said that I need to delete ‘’to’’ so it make me quite confused.

Thank you for everything. Hope to your reply soon.

Regards

:-)

Hi Jannie,

We’ll work on your writing soon, but for now, let’s see how we can use the verb “adapt”.

The verb adapt can be either a transitive verb or an intransitive verb. Depending on the usage, it has different meanings.

As a transitive verb, “to adapt” means “to change”.

Example:
The company adapts a new design for its manufacturing process. (The company changes the design for its manufacturing process.)

NASA adapts a new method for approaching the moon. (NASA changes the method to approach the moon.)

The school has adapted a new textbook for every English class. (The school has changed a new textbook for every English class.)

As an intransitive verb, “to adapt” means “to be familiar with”, “to be able to live with”, or “to feel comfortable with”.

Example:
These birds cannot adapt to the cold winter. They have to fly south every year. (These birds cannot be able to live with the cold winter. They have to fly south every year.)

It is not easy to adapt to the new way of living in a strange country. (It is not easy to be familiar with the new way of living in a strange country.)

Children find it hard to adapt to the new rules set by the new teachers. (Children find it hard to be familiar with the new rules set by the new teachers.)

In your case, if I understood you correctly, you had your own way of study, but now, you are adapting a new method to cope with the new school. You also have to adapt to a new environment where language, customs, and traditions are new to you.

Personally, I use “adapt” when I am in control. I can choose what to do: I adapt a new design, a different method, or a new textbook. In other words, I choose to use a new design, a different method, or a new textbook.

I use “adapt to” when I am influenced by environment or certain situation, and I have to change myself: I have to adapt to the cold winter, the new way of living, or a new set of rules. In other words, I have to change myself to live with the cold winter, to be comfortable with the new way of living, or to be familiar the new set of rules.

Hope that helps.

:-)

[Jannie2568]

Hi Bear,

Thank you for your explicit explaination. Now, I understand more obviously how to use this verb. Thank for that :)

Besides, I am wondering about the difference of seminar, conference and workshop. Could you explain for me pls?

Thank in advance!

[who_owns_death]

Last week was my worst nightmare. I happen to realize that I have been taken advantage of by an asshole all these times. I happen to know that I'm losing a good friend. It seems to him that I'm not that important. As if it is not bad enough, I messed up a big test. Also, I got my English paper back with red marks on every single sentence. A lot of times, I find myself pretty confident with my English writing and science courses but the situation is completely opposite this time. Well, my English still sucks despite the fact that I have learned it for 5 years or so. It turns out that my knowledge of science is not as good as I thought it was. The crap keeps adding up to a point where I think that I will have to spend this whole spring break and summer time to catch up with my friends. All of the sudden, I feel sad and unhappy. I need somebody to ease this massive headache for me. Once again, I find myself so weak and vulnerable. I miss the old days. I miss those good times that I had with my friends. I'm trying to find my way back. I want.....I want...hm...... for now, I just want to free write and get some help with my english grammar!

[lovely_lolapop_candy]

well,it seems like you are having quite a lot of trouble,all the things make you so depressed,although you say the most important issue now is your problem foreign languages,but actually the reson is the thing around you.I sugest that you should get the spirit or attempt to forget them and focus on school,am sure you get over ít ! Good luck ^^

[who_owns_death]

I never said that my biggest trouble was english. It's easy for you to say, Lovely. Get back to me on that when you arrive in the states. You gotta be in my shoe to understand what I'm talking about. Anyway, thanks for dropping me a message. I appreciate your time and your lecture ^_^.

[lovely_lolapop_candy]

Yeah, I think so.Well,good luck^^

[Bear Lac Loi]

It was quite early in the morning. It was raining, but he didn’t mind at all, though he wasn’t even inside.

After parking his car at the far end of the parking lot, he pulled out the golf umbrella, reached for the briefcase, and walked slowly to the building.

The rain came down in thick but fine droplets. The wind was calm, and he had no troubles keeping the humongous umbrella straight up. He lowered the umbrella to a few inches above his head, listening to the sound of the dropping raindrops. He walked in small steps on the concrete surface while trying to avoid little pools of water here and there.

On the ground, water was lazily flowing in all directions like thousands of small streams of bubbles chasing each other in the parking lot. They joint together at some point, creating larger pools that were scattered randomly. From there, came out a larger stream that was hurriedly going off somewhere else.

The rain rolled off the umbrella, surrounded him with a beaded curtain. It swayed along with him, one small step at a time, generating waving motions like a dancing shroud of water. He somehow felt protected. He felt the coziness of being inside though he was definitely fully exposed to the shower but a thin sheet of nylon over his head.

And so he kept on walking, listening to the rain while watching little popping bubbles everywhere. He felt calm and peaceful. He smiled, “Good morning, Friday,” then he kept on walking.

And the rain quietly followed him.

...

[ThanksForTeachingMe]

People in my city must be a good swimmer because when it rains, the streets become rivers. Since I have some business background, I intend to establish a company that produces boats for people to use during rainy seasons.

Sometimes when it rains heavily, the Internet or even electric power gets cut off. As a result, we don't have to waste time on chatting on the Internet or watching television. We can save time.

Many people forget to bring their raincoats with them. Hence, when it rains, they are exposed under the rain. They would be sick after that. Consequently, they would have to buy medicines. They enrich pharmacists.

Rain in my city is very special because it makes my city unique.

[Bear Lac Loi]

He wasn’t alone in the garage, and he knew it. Actually, he only felt it, but he knew it was there.

He liked to sit in the garage sometimes and roamed through old books or files, and it happened again. He felt a shadow passing through quickly from behind while he was reading a book, but he couldn’t tell what it was. Once in a while, he got an eerie feeling of the stare from a pair of suspicious eyes watching his every move, but he couldn't locate them.

It wasn’t there before, he was sure. It must have arrived not too long ago, sometime by the end of fall. He heard noises occasionally. They sounded as if someone was rubbing along the wall. But when he opened the door to the garage, everything turned quiet. Nothing moved. Nothing was moved.

Last Friday, he parked his car outside. Near midnight, when the whole world had gone to bed, he went to the garage, arming himself with a big flashlight. There, he pulled out a stool and sat quietly at a corner of the empty garage. His back was against the wall. The lights were off. No book, no food, no iPod, nothing but the feeling of the cold steel of the Maglite flashlight. He sat motionless for an hour with his eyes opened, trying to sense motion in the total darkness. And he detected none. He saw nothing.

But he knew! There was no need for physical confirmation. It was there, watching him! He wasn’t alone. Sometimes, it's good to know. Sometimes not!

[ThanksForTeachingMe]

Is it a ghost? Or is it a mouse?

[1dongsong]

Is it a ghost? Or is it a mouse?

If I were you thày Bear, I would also arming myself with a digital camera, just incase I see something, and who knows this may turn out to be the best possible chance of getting ghostly phenomena, or something... on film, and you can see your photo results immediately.

Ghosts are not just in haunted old buildings. Ghosts are almost everywhere in one form or another. So don't be afraid to take photos thày Bear, and don't forget to talk to them. I think that ghosts are often attracted to people and will follow them around............put the camera over your shoulder and snap a picture behind you.

Sometimes it's good to have physical evidence.

[Bear Lac Loi]

If I were you thày Bear, I would also arming myself with a digital camera, just incase I see something, and who knows this may turn out to be the best possible chance of getting ghostly phenomena, or something... on film, and you can see your photo results immediately.

Ghosts are not just in haunted old buildings. Ghosts are almost everywhere in one form or another. So don't be afraid to take photos thày Bear, and don't forget to talk to them. I think that ghosts are often attracted to people and will follow them around............put the camera over your shoulder and snap a picture behind you.

Sometimes it's good to have physical evidence.

No way, 1DongSong, don’t scare me. I’ve prayed to the high heaven that it wasn’t a ghost. Well … I wouldn’t be too scared if it were a ghost, but I would feel quite uncomfortable about it!

OK, I must admit: I would be … sort of … scared if it were a ghost. I’m not a big fan of ghosts, and I have no desire to see one or to see the evidence of its existence. Cross my heart. I think ghosts are spooky, especially when I’m all by myself at night.

When I was a cute, young bear, I lived in a village outside Huế - An Cựu Village. There, I learned all kinds of unforgettable and scary ghost stories. I remember the ghost of a young lady near a coconut tree at the end of the village, where she would randomly sing lullaby to her child at night. Rumor was that when Huế was temporarily occupied during the war, the lady and her family were hanged by the tree because her husband was an army officer. I’m not sure if my memory is a product of imagination, but I remember one time, when I was playing with other kids under the moonlight, I heard the clear and high pitch singing voice of the lady, coupling with the child’s sharp cry in the night.

I also remember seeing a moving glow-in-the-dark object in the village’s cemetery, while sitting behind my dad on his motorcycle at night. People in the village said that it was a fire ghost, which we could only see from a distance once in a blue moon. However, when we get close to it, it would disappear into thin air.

Because of growing up hearing those scary ghost stories in the town that was known for thousands of citizens being buried alive, ghosts are something that I’m not very comfortable with, despite the fact that I am now living on the other side of the earth, far away from the town.

Now, if you were in Việt Nam, or specifically, Huế … uh … I’m not sure how you would feel about ghosts. Have you ever sat alone in your backyard or walked along deserted streets all by yourself at night? Wouldn’t you, once in a while, feel a strange, tingling sensation behind your neck; realizing goose bumps begin to rise from your skin, and a chill snakes through your spines?

Hmm …

[Bear Lac Loi]

Now that graduation is on the horizon, graduating students start looking for jobs. In the US, Placement Offices usually hold seminars to teach students how to prepare their resumes, how to write cover letters, or how to act and talk during job interviews.

I’m not sure how the training processes are in Vietnam for graduating students, but I’ve noticed that many Vietnamese students seem to wonder a lot about interviewing questions.

Some have done their homework well. They wrote down the questions and provided their answers, then asked me to review and provide comments. I like these students. Whether the answers were good or not, their actions exhibit independence and an initiative attitude. Some, however, came to the room and asked me to ask them interviewing questions and give them the answers! Out of politeness, I did give a couple of common questions, and provide hints for the answers. However, I knew through experience that those who asked to be fed would not succeed. At the interview, they may be able to remember what I told them and respond well on certain questions, but their inability to improvise will show, and the interviewer will know. They will fail!

Anyway, as the job market is tightening, the selections become tougher. The interviewers get more critical, and the political attitude suddenly disappears. They demand clarity and specificness in every response. Questions such as, “What are your strengths and weaknesses,” though exist, seem to be the voice of the past. Instead, specific questions, designed to force the candidates to express their weaknesses in different forms, are asked:

* How does this job help you stretch your professional capability?
* What have been the greatest areas of improvement in your career?
* What was the toughest feedback from your manager?
* What are people likely to misunderstand you?
* What do you expect from your management?
* In which form did you receive help from your management and colleagues?

Those are tough and direct questions, but they also give the candidate an opportunity to express their strengths as well. Nevertheless, without proper preparations, one tends to fail when facing such specific inquiries.

A truthful and well-prepared candidate should be able to respond directly with enough supporting details. Otherwise, the candidate would just be considered as a talker. Be careful, though. One must remember that too much detail would eventually bore the interviewer. Watch and analyze the reaction from the interviewer while responding and, most important, improvise. Be flexible.

After all, interviewing is an art, and that goes for both the interviewer and the interviewee.

[Bear Lac Loi]

So, you were having a job interview. You were nervous – extremely nervous. You desperately wanted the job. You tried your best to respond to every question from the interviewer, but somehow, the answers didn’t seem perfect. You tried to elaborate them, but that brought more questions that you didn’t know how to answer. You dodged the questions and moved on to a different subject, but the interviewer didn’t let you go. He kept asking about things that happened to be your weaknesses. The more you tried to stir away, the more the related questions were thrown at you.

You thought the interviewer were trying to pressure you. You though his questions were designed to fail you. “Such an evil,” you could have sworn, and you hated him for replaying the nightmare you had had the night before.

However, it wasn’t just you: The pressure was on the interviewer as well. He also had a nightmare.

His nightmare was that he wouldn’t be able to fill the position, or that he would hire a wrong person. If he messed up either way, his boss would scold him. He wouldn’t get a raise. He might get demoted. Worse, he could be fired if he kept hiring wrong people for the jobs.

--- o0o ---

The company had one position to fill. He advertised and received a hundred resumes. He screened them and kept those who matched the requirements. After that, he spent a whole day reading the resumes, and picked out ten semi-finalists who had the potential.

The next day, he called up the ten candidates, pretending asking for additional information, but mainly performing a preliminary interview. He would spend about ten to fifteen minutes for each friendly chat. It was his lucky day: He was able to reach most candidates. Those, whom he had left a message, also called him back on the same day.

By the end of the day, all he had left were the resumes of six promising candidates. He put the information together along with his preliminary assessment for each. After that, he sent the six folders to the requesting manager – the one who requested him to fill the position.

Within a day or two, the requesting manager gave him the names of three finalists whom he wanted to interview.

--- o0o ---

That was a couple of weeks ago. Since then, he has arranged the traveling and scheduled for an office visit for each candidate.

Now, he is sitting in front of you, trying his best to get you to work for the company. He wants you so much because you are one of the best. You are one of the top three out of a hundred applicants. All he needs now is for you to convince him that you are the right person for the job.

However, he is having a big problem: You don’t seem to focus on the position that he is offering. It seemed as if you just wanted a job – any job. He asked you specific questions, which are essential to the position, but you only gave him general answers. He wanted you to ensure him that you would fit in with the company, but you seemed unsure. He was looking for signs that you would have no problem learning new experiences, but you were only talking about the past. You weren't listening.

He wants a good excuse to hire you. He desperately needs your help providing him the excuse, but the more he asked the questions, the further you drifted away by feeding him rehearsed or general responses.

He finally gave up.

As soon as you are out of his office, heading to the next interviewer, he stamps on your application: REJECT.

His nightmare is surfacing.

[Bear Lac Loi]

When we have a job interview, we tend to think that we have the disadvantage. We assume that we get the short end of the stick, and that we are at the mercy of the interviewer.

As it turns out, that is not always the case.

My previous writing, “Hidden Fears of a Human Resources Manager,” which was based on a true story, tells otherwise. The pressure goes both ways: We want the job, and the company wants to hire the right person. We have to convince the interviewer that we are the right person, and the interviewer has to ask all kinds of questions to ensure that we can fit in. He’s not being mean. He’s just doing his job.

It’s not a secret that the interviewer also feels insecure. The effect of hiring a wrong person will haunt the interviewer for quite awhile. In fact, Human Resources Managers prefer not hiring the right person to hiring a wrong person. Therefore, if they are not sure that we are a perfect match for the job, they’ll scratch us off without a second thought. Thus, our task is to help the manager hire us.

The thought that we have the disadvantage would lower our self-esteem and affect our confidence at the time we need it most. Salespersons have to believe in the products that they sell. Similarly, we have to believe in the product we’re selling, i.e. our services. We have the education. We have the know-how. All we need to do now is to convince the interviewer methodologically and logically.

We should stop worrying about what we can’t control, such as whether or not we will be hired. That’s the interviewer’s job. Our job is to make sure that we are doing our best on what we can control.

We can control our knowledge of the company. Therefore, we should learn all we can about the company before the interview. Understand the company’s products, strengths, and weaknesses. Know the company’s competitors and their strengths and weaknesses. Impress the interviewer with what we know about his company.

We can control our understanding about the position that they are hiring. So we have to learn all we can about the position and determine how we can apply our experiences to it. Tell the interviewer what we can do for the company.

We can control our ability to react well to interviewing questions. We would search for common questions on the Internet and practice answering them. Write down the answers – It helps gathering our thoughts together. We can read and judge the answers, and adjust accordingly. With preparations, we will be able to improvise even if the interviewer asks unfamiliar questions.

At the interview, answer the questions carefully and truthfully, and we can control that, too. We may exaggerate a little, but we shall not lie. Interviewers are well-trained people. They have interviewed many candidates through out their career while most of us only have a few interviews in life. They can see through us easily. As Vietnamese usually say, we can’t “múa rìu qua mắt thợ.” Don’t try to bluff or dodge the questions. Human Resources managers are experts when it comes to assessing people.

Answer specific questions specifically. Don’t beat around the bush. If we don’t understand the question, ask for elaboration. If we understand the question, but we have to make assumptions or to speculate the answer, tell him so. Remember that the interviewer is not there to pick on us. His objective is to make sure that he hires the right person. Our objective is to help him making sure that we are the right person.

Sometimes, chemistry between the interviewer and us is somehow wrong, and the interview just doesn’t feel right. That, however, is just bad luck, and luck is something that we can’t control, usually.

Last, and most important, be confident and professional. Be also nice, polite, and diplomatic. It’s always help to be a pleasant person.

--- o0o ---

Good luck to you all.

[Bear Lac Loi]

I'm sure we all have days such as mine today.

As usual, I woke up by 5:00. Still in automatic mode, I got off the bed and headed straight to the bathroom. It was there, when I sat down on the edge of the whirlpool while waiting for the hot water in the shower, that I felt I didn’t want to do anything at the moment. I didn’t remember what I was thinking. I just sat there, feeling sort of drowsy while the room started steaming up.

After a while, I got up and turned off the shower. “Heck with it,” I said, while picking up the phone and left a message with the admin assistant at work, telling her that I’d have something to do, and that I wouldn’t be able to make it to the 6:30 meeting. Then I let myself fall on my comfy bed, pulled up the blanket, and off I went to the la-la land.

Noisy birds woke me up later. The sun has already gone up high outside. I could hear the thump sounds of squirrels chasing each other on the wood deck. It was past eight o’clock. I lay there in my bed, no longer feeling drowsy, but the laziness had taken over. My head felt a bit heavy. I tried to close my eyes, but sleep wouldn't come. I finally gave up and went for the shower.

It felt like a weekend day though I knew it wasn’t. It was Friday, but I didn’t feel like going to work. Fully dressed, I sat in the sunroom, sipping my coffee slowly while reading about the glitch in the stock market yesterday.

Slowly, one by one, thoughts about work began to surface. There were tasks to do, schedule to meet, documents to read, and people to see. Then suddenly, they accelerated and my brain felt as if it had just been ignited. I hurriedly finished the last drop of my coffee, got up, and took off in no time.

With quick and long strides, I walked through the parking lot under the mid-morning sun. When I got to the office, the admin assistant looked up with a puzzled expression. I was about to lie, but instead, I just smiled. “Good morning,” I said. She smiled back. I was sure she knew that I’d just had one of those days.

[Bear Lac Loi]

“Just one more mile,” my dad said as we were walking back from Đèo Rù Rì toward Nha Trang.

Early that day, my dad and I hitchhiked to a small temple in Đèo Rù Rì, about five miles North of Nha Trang. I was in 7th grade by then. We both belonged to Boy Scout in Viet Nam, and helping an old monk cleaning up the temple’s ground for a day was my dad’s idea of fun at the time. With the Boy Scout uniform, we didn’t have much trouble hitchhiking. Bus drivers didn’t seem to mind giving us a hand, and we got to the temple early.

At the temple, we swept the leaves, pulled the grass, trimmed the bushes, and cleared broken branches. The temple wasn’t much. It was just a small hut in the wood, where an old monk lived while taking care of the big statue of Phật Bà Quan Âm in Đèo Rù Rì. We worked until the sun went behind the mountain, then said good-bye to the monk. We walked along the highway, hoping that we could hitchhike our way back.

We walked and walked. I was exhausted after the long workday, but I was glad that we did execute the Boy Scout’s slogan for the day: Do a good turn daily. To shorten the trip, my dad told stories. Sometimes, we sang Boy Scout songs. Once in a while, we stopped to rest and drank water. Few busses passed by, but they were probably full. To keep me from being disappointed whenever a bus went by, my dad told me, “Just one more mile.”

No, it wasn’t the physical mile that my dad was talking about. Neither was it an assessment of distance. It was a reminder.

“Just one more mile, Little Bear,” my dad usually told me. “One more mile would make the world different.” And the “Just one more mile” reminder was what I grew up with, and have striven to live by. Walking just one more mile is like putting in one little extra effort in whatever we do. If we are willing to go through that extra mile, we'll get closer to perfection.

Performing a quick review of the formulas before taking a test; reading the email one more time before clicking “send”; looking up the word in the dictionary instead of skipping it; or thinking it over before saying something that may affect others were all a part my dad’s principle of “Just one more mile.” It was just a simple sentence, a little encouragement, or a quick reminder, but it somehow imprinted in my mind. And so did the walk from Đèo Rù Rì.

Thinking back, I am glad that no busses stopped to pick us up. Everything has its own destiny, and it was destined for my dad and I to walk back so his Little Bear would never forget the reminder.

We dragged our feet through the five-mile-long walk after an exhausted day, but the one more mile was what finally got us home.

--- o0o ---

My dad died on April 30th in Hue while I was walking my miles at a university in the US. That date happened to be the same date when South VietNam had fallen years before.

April 30th, 1975 was the day that has generally changed millions of Vietnamese lives, including mine. But I remember the most, however, that April 30th of some years later was the date when my dad finished his last mile.

[Bear Lac Loi]

I’m dragging my feet. I seem to have Friday blue syndrome lately. Besides, I probably got an acute case of allergy as well. I’ve been drugging myself with my daily fix of antihistamine for the last couple of weeks.

This year’s spring is quite unusual. Flowers bloom everywhere. Pretty flowers, strange flowers, white flowers, colorful flower, planted flowers, or wild flowers spread out everywhere in the city and along the highways. I can smell them as soon as I get out of the house. The faint fragrance hidden in the air is covering the earth, suspended above the city, and ignoring the morning breeze as it's flowing by. I have a thing for fragrance. I like the smell, but I don’t like the sneezes that come with it.

The forecast said that it was going to rain soon. Another wet weekend, I assume. I’m crossing my finger, hoping that the rain would drag down the pollen that is floating in the air. However, it doesn’t matter much. As soon as the sun dries out the rain, pollen will fly yet again.

Oh well, since I can’t do much about the allergy besides loading up my body with antihistamine, I might as well enjoy the colorful flowers and the refreshing fragrance.

But I’m still dragging my feet. I’m so ready for the weekend!

[Bear Lac Loi]

Another week has gone by. Too quickly, I’m afraid.

Things were crazy at the beginning of the week then slowing down toward the end, as the check marks on my to-do list crawled to the last check box. My brain seems to require some downtime. A sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction has started creeping in. I begin to taste the true flavor of my coffee, and feel the urge to kick back even before the day is over. The laziness in me is about to take control.

I’ve fought hard not to allow myself to slow down. I knew if I gave in, I would be dragging along for the rest of the afternoon. I need to keep my brain moving. Thus, I started writing. It’s not work related, but I believe a 30-minute essay of nonsense stuffs would prevent me from being a lazy bum.

The morning is not over, but the daily-note page in my Franklin calendar has already filled up. I like that calendar. It’s like a work diary, where I would put down everything I had done for the day. I use Saturday and Sunday pages to summarize what were going on during the week and what I should have done.

I learned how to use it since I was a young engineer. I remember coming with my boss to a meeting to discuss few issues with upper management of the company. I was so impressed with the way my boss presented the issues. He could precisely provide the evidences along with the dates as needed after briefly flipping through his notes.

After the meeting, I asked him to show me the secret, and he told me about the Franklin calendar. By then, it was Franklin Quest’s calendar. Now, it’s Frankin Covey. I’ve never gone to a meeting without it since.

Technology has changed. People are using computer or hand-held gadgets for scheduling and note taking. Me, I’m still filling my Franklin with my barely legible handwriting on every page. I guess I’m some kind of an old fashion guy.

Now, back to work.

[Bear Lac Loi]

Mentioning of my old boss made me wonder how he was doing. I have had many bosses over the years, but he was the first in my professional life. Up to now, I sometimes caught myself unconsciously acting and talking like him at work. I guess I must have learned a lot from the man.

--- o0o ---

My first impression of him was not great. I felt quite uncomfortable during the job interview. He did not talk much, and when he talked, he did not let me interrupt. That was hard to do for a new, energetic college graduate, who believed that lessons from the university were all that he needed in life.

At the beginning of the interview, I often smiled and responded quickly. Few minutes into the interview, the smiles were mostly wiped off, and the responses were no longer spontaneous. I learned quickly that I had to adjust to his analytical style. I took my time to think over what I was about to say to minimize additional related questions.

When the interview was over, I did not think I could get a job. I felt my knowledge was inadequate, my experiences were a joke, and I was sure my English with Vietnamese accent did not help much either. I considered the interview was a failure, and went on to apply with other companies. Strangely, his assessment of me was not the same as mine of myself. The company offered me a job.

I learned a lot working for him, both technically and socially. Instead of assigning a senior engineer to be my mentor, he took me under his wing. It was quite unusual for a big boss to mentor a new kid. Many colleagues felt sorry for me because I was put under the spotlight, thus any mistakes I made could be easily blown out of proportion. I sometimes wished I could find a big hole to hide, but there was not any. I was fully exposed and was threatened to get fired quite a few times, not by my boss, but by the bosses of my boss. Poor kid!

However, it turned out to be a good opportunity for me. Mistakes were learned. Attitude was adjusted. I was forced to communicate clearer, to write better, to talk with proper enunciation, and to present speeches in simple and logical manners. My name was bounced around like a ping-pong, and my proposals got more attentions.

“Why me?” I once asked him. He winked and told me, “I saw the potential during the interview.” That left me dumbfounded. I thought that was the worst interview I had ever had. Sometimes, things are not what they seem to be.

--- o0o ---

Anyway, I called him over the weekend. Though no longer working for the same company, I still come to him for advice occasionally. He laughed when I told him that I still used Franklin Calendar. “I do, too,” he told me. As a vice president of a Fortune-500 company, the old man has few admin assistants to keep track with his daily schedule, appointments, and meeting minutes, but he still does things the old fashion way. And even though the calendar’s name has changed, he still refers to it as his Franklin Quest’s. Old habits are hard to die.