传说中的10年美国签证

2个多月前拿到了加拿大移民，盘算着弄个10年的美国签证，方便以后趴趴走

大家都知道，美国签证一向是僧多粥少，要提前很久预约。不过我要说的是，这边美国大使馆的预约方式真的是很无厘头。按常理，最简单的方法就是先到先得。那么，大使馆只要每周定时更新网页就好啦。需要的人准时守在电脑前，手指动得快一点，就可以保证拿到位子。可是，亲爱的大使馆偏偏不按常理出牌。人家随机更新，让你完全摸不到规律。才有勤奋友爱的同志们，把悉心摸索出来的时间规律公之于众，大使馆就马上改变作息时间。唯一的方法就是。。。撞大运！

在无数次刷新之后，竟然让我在某个阴霾的下午抓到了一个机会，rp爆发！之后就是按部就班的准备材料和交钱（居然涨价到131美元），倒也不是什么难事。毕竟有了加拿大移民的身份，需要的材料就是一系列表格（D156, D157），学校证明和银行存款证明。

没想到，材料还是准备多了。到了使馆，通过安检之后，有个黑珍珠帮着整理材料。人家瞟了一眼我的在读证明和银行存单之后，就原样退回，说是根本不需要。结果，我就拿着一堆网上下载的表格和缴费证明走进了等候大厅。

天花板上吊着的电视重复播着无聊的动画片，孩子们在不大的房间里追跑打闹，却不太吵。我大概看了一下四周，70%是印度人，20%是亚洲人（中国和韩国），10%好像是东欧那些国家的人。虽然椅子们都是朝前的，但大部分人都是侧着坐，面向签证柜台，唯恐听落了自己的名字。难道面对着会比侧对着听着更真切吗？应该纯粹是心理作用吧。

整个流程很简单。进入房间后，先在一个窗口上交材料。这个时候，工作人员会看一下枫叶卡，然后在文件上写一些鬼画符般的记号。如果所有材料齐全，那就会让你找个位子坐下，等着叫名字。这个时候，大家就会不自觉地开始采用侧坐方式。大概一刻钟后，我被叫去打指模，之后继续回去坐着等


又过了一刻钟，终于等到和签证官聊天的机会了。寒暄了一下后，胖胖的签证官（下文以小胖代之）进入正题:"So you are a Ph.D student now. What department are you in?" 我呢，按照准备好的台词，blah blah blah了一通。“Okay. What is your project about? ” 哟，小胖问得还挺细，正好给我个机会给他科普一下。于是乎，我继续blah blah blah。"Okay, so you only test the protein expression level, but not doing sth about protein synthesis, right?" 天啊，这哥们儿懂得还挺多。我赶紧说我们不做那个，我们只是测测表达而已。估计做这个的人应该会被background check吧。听了我的回答，小胖似乎很满意，乐呵呵地批准了我的申请。

出了使馆，发现才用了40分钟就搞定了。可是在里面等待的时候，总觉得那么漫长，估计都是那不着调的动画片闹得。

3天之后，收到了寄回来的护照，上面赫然贴着10年多次往返的美国签证。吼吼，美国的各大outlet，我就要杀过去啦

Frisky Business: The Top 10 Make Out Spots on the U of T Campus-转贴

从UofT的blog上面看到，实在是值得跟大家分享一下。

记得以前好像还有人写过一篇文章，主题是：UofT之最佳午睡地点。如果我没有记错，冠军得主应该是Hart House里的图书馆（见下图）。

午后的阳光慵懒的洒在身上，斜斜地窝在柔软的长座沙发中打个盹儿，真是一件幸福的事情呀（不过我似乎只要一看paper就能马上睡着，倒也不用这么舒服的环境）

Frisky Business: The Top 10 Make Out Spots on the U of T Campus

June 26th, 2008 by Lori

Summer is here, it’s getting warmer (for the most part), and animals are procreating. You are probably in love, looking for love, or have aching loins. What do you all have in common? You’re frisky and you want to make out; don’t deny it! The U of T campus is pretty empty now that it’s summer, and if you are taking summer courses, why not take advantage of this? You might have your own secret areas to make out on campus, but here’s a list of our suggestions. Read on for photos, ratings, and a map of the best make out spots on campus!

10. Woodsworth College Quad

The Woodsworth courtyard is a perfect place for courting. It is quiet, except for the gentle sound of water flowing from a strange, fountain-like structure. There are windows all around, however. Anything you do will be seen, so watch out. Unless you’re into that stuff.
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9. Victoria College Pond

Perhaps you prefer an artificial waterfall to spice up your make out location. If so, then get yourself and your make out buddy to Victoria College’s pond, just off to the side of the Pratt Library. Careful not to get anything wet though. You don’t want to passers-by to frown upon your indecent behaviour.
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8. Faculty of Forestry

This thick mass of foliage near the Faculty of Forestry provides good making-out camoulflage from passersby. If you want to keep things PG, you can also just sit down and enjoy the peaceful sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling.
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7. Lash Miller

Don’t like trees? Recently constructed, the courtyard of Lash Miller is the place for you. You can still enjoy the sunshine and breeze without potentially getting dirt and leaves on yourself. Just don’t mind if a friendly, U of T raccoon passes by (yes, I saw one when I was taking this picture).
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6. Courtyard Beside UC

This is the perfect, open area to have a picnic and cuddle over a nice blanket. Don’t try to make any moves, though, because a lot of people walk by this area.
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5. UC Quad

If you liked the scenery in Harry Potter, you probably enjoy the atmosphere of UC. It has a very peaceful, mysterious, woods-ey feel. If that makes your loins tingle, that’s okay, because other people in the quad can’t see what you are doing if you are far enough away from them (given that it’s nothing too obvious).
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4. Knox College Quad

In the beautiful quad of Knox college, you will find yourself surrounded by gorgeous Gothic architecture. There’s even what looks like a love seat at your disposal. Don’t get too lovey-dovey though, because there are windows facing the quad. And afterall, you wouldn’t want to be caught doing anything unchaste in the quad of U of T’s school of theology.
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3. CCBR Bamboo Garden

How do you know if a location is a good make out spot? Well, you could judge the setting, the scenery, the privacy etc. Or, you could just notice that people always, ALWAYS, make out there. This, is one of those spots: the indoor bamboo garden in the CCBR building. Bonus advantage: it’s scenic setting indoors, so it can be your make out “go to” spot for those stormy days.
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2. Philosopher’s Walk

With an expanse of trees, grass and paths, this romantically named location is an idea make out pot for those beautiful summer days. You can find a spot a bit out of the way to avoid the occasional passerby and break out your make out. (Oh yeah, I saw people making out while I was there to take the photos for this post)
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1. New College Basement

This tutorial room located in the deserted, maze-like basement of New College is a definite no-no for first dates. On the other hand, you are looking for a private place to study, or “study” (hint, hint), it’s the perfect place to rent out from the porter. You can just lock the door and let loose.
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Rating key:
- a last resort
- acceptable
- pretty good
- very romantic

Privacy level:
- hand-holding and hugs only
- French kissing okay
- discreet PG-13 action allowed
- hubba hubba — anything goes!

Make Out Map:

View Larger Map

This post was brought to you by the collaborative effort of Lori, Barbara, and JP. Leave a comment below and tell us where you’ve made out on campus before! Upload photos of your favourite campus spots on the blogUT Flickr Pool. Alternatively, go give our suggested make out spots a try and tell us what you think!

令人尴尬的Poster Session

每次去开会，必定躲不掉令人尴尬的Poster Session。

在整个poster session的过程中，我应该耐心等待在我的poster旁边，静候各位看官的光临。察言观色，那是必不可少的。如果感觉看官们对我的poster有疑问，那就要抓住时机，主动offer:"Do you have any question?" 抑或"Do you want me to go through my poster?"听起来好像不难，可是，这个时机想要抓的准确，却是需要很大功力的。

对于我本身，为了抓住这个时机，必须深情款款地凝望各位看官，同时不忘观察其身体动作。可是这样一来，不免给各位看官增加无形压力。试想在我的炯炯目光之下，不紧张的，应该是少数吧有些脸皮薄的，只好停留片刻，就匆匆从我的热切期盼中逃离。估计只能把标题看个大概，更别提和我深入讨论实验内容了。

有时候会暂时离开自己的地盘，到别家去学习。这个时候，我就会变成羞涩的看官，不敢应对主人家殷切的目光。毕竟做的领域不同，有的时候是根本不感兴趣。人家问起来，只好回答说暂时没有问题。结果闹得双方都颇为尴尬。而有的时候是还没有看完整个内容，就被突然地提问。唉，我只是想安安静静的把这个poster看完啊

终于找到一个自己感兴趣的，又刚好抓住时机，得以和作者展开热烈讨论。可是，人都是喜欢凑热闹的。哪里有讨论，哪里就会突然有不相干的人跳出来，猛地插一句话进来。当然，大家一起讨论欢迎，但是也要听完别人的问题才好吧。对那种别人提出问题，作者还没有回答，他却抢着显摆的人最是无奈。而且，人会越来越多，完全挡住整个poster。不知情的，还以为这个是什么重大课题，匆匆赶来插一耳朵。既看不到poster，也没听全问题，白白浪费时间。

听说现在有的会议已经对poster session下手整改，不再举行传统意义上的展示。他们的方法是：先举行Oral session，让大家能够对整个story有个大体了解。然后再贴出这个课题的poster，让看官有地放矢地提出问题。这个方法很好，不过似乎只适用于比较小型的会议。那动不动就上千人的Neuroscience Meeting，应该只能继续沿用这个尴尬的poster session吧