A somebody in your life

Level 9  - Chip (Works in another office, no direct contact)

world wide partner - Usually very old, and has worked for the company for longer than I have lived. Makes lots of money and can take a vacation at anytime.

Level 8 - Laura (My boss)

Principle - Early forties, has beening working for the company for around 10 years. Need to be a CFA and maybe a master degree of some sort. Very knowledgable at a variety of areas.

Level 7 - Susan (My second boss, just had a baby yesterday)

Senior Assosiate - Mid thirties, has been with the company for 4-6 years with considerable contribution or luck. Has a CFA or a master degree of finance.

Level 6 - Jill (My mentor/co-worker/competition)

Assosiate - Late twenties or early thirties. Need to have 4-5 years of related working experience. By working hard or being decently smart will usually get you there.

Level 5 - James (My co-worker/direct competition)

Senior Analyst - Mid to late twenties. Usually two years of experience will get you there with good work ethics and potential.

Level 4 - Me (Myself, even though it is hard to believe at times)

Analyst - Early twenties with a BS degree and lots of BS piling on top of me.

Level 3 - Jon (Everyone's assistant, and Laura's personal secretary)

Assistant - Anyone who is good at organizing and relatively decent ass-kissing skills.

 

This is a brief summary of my life at level 4. Please tell me to enjoy it while I can, because I was about to ask you...how?

 

P.S. One year later, the world has changed dramatically. It stopped moving and became a box with numerous layers. Here I am, sitting at level 4 and desparately trying to peel my way out of this trap. When I finally poke open the final layer, I discover the world actually never stopped moving on the ourside. I guess I have to stay here for a while for the promise that I will give her a good life.

      8 days away from Lasa. No cell phone signal. Its been hard to even get electricity for the past few days. The condition of the roads is even worse. We rarely shower now, but we get dranched by rain at least once a day. The whether is extremely unpredictable. You either get rained on or get burned by the sun. Usually it is the combination of the two. However, it has been fun for us. We are used to climbing one mountain a day; we are used to ride in the sky with clouds at eye level; we are used to day light until 9pm, and we are used to seeing the sun and moon at the same time. Overhere, the sky is so close and blue, the moon is so bright and round, I can almost reach out and grab it. Overhere life is so simple. Unlike people, you can't negotiate with mother nature. You just take whatever she dishes out. Happy or not depends on how we take it. People are simple, even though we almost never understand what they are saying. There are a couple nice towns which we stayed in. If you wish to live a simple life, I will let you know what they are. Unlike my meaningless school life, We wake up everyday with a goal in mind, and we enjoy whatever the process brings to us. The bottomline is, we have to get there by the end of the day. For us, the world is always moving. If you don't pay attention for an hour, you will wonder how the hell did I get here? It is kind of like a movie of life.

      Two days ago, we played basketball at 4100m. It was the first time I play ball for almost a month, and first time at such high altitude. We played for an hour and a half and climbed another mountain that afternoon. As usual, I don't feel tired at all. Haha. Out of the four different parties we have met going to Lasa, we are easily the fastest and tightest. We are united, and we do everything together! I mean everything. Shit!!! We are so close from accomplishing this trip now, and we already finished the hardest strech. I heard the scenery we are about to see in a few days is unbelivable. We will see! My heart already flew back to somewhere in Beijing, where it belongs...I miss you!

 

P.S: It is very unorganized, just random thoughts that came to my mind while I am writing.

Most people we have seen for the past four days are Tibetens. Everyone waves to us, and greets us in their language. It felt good for the first couple days, cause for the first time in my life I felt kind of like a star. But since yesterday, I got tired of this stardom. The combination of high altitude and fatigue gets me a little retarded. I just stare straight ahead and ignore them. But then, I don't want to disappoint those nice people, so I wave back against my will and spend my last breath greeting them back. I repeat this process at least 30 times a day. Man, its hard to be a star. For the past few days, we have seen the beauty of nature, and we have experienced hell. I have gained a lot, and maybe I have missed more. One thing for sure, I have worked hard everyday to get this far, and I will continue working hard to reach my destination. No matter how it turns out to be, it is an experience of a life time. Right now I am writing this from the highest city in the world.

第28天，今天到了雅安。小猫头鹰死了，贝贝回北京了，明天我们也要翻山了。今天是阴天，但是还能够看见远远的大山阻挡我们的去向。听人家说过了山藏民就多了，想要吃到蔬菜和米饭不是什么容易的事情了。在四川这几天吃了不少辣的，但是没有想象中那么离普。我们已经备足了巧克力，压缩饼干，估计今后这些天是由不得我们挑了。能找到一家饭馆就不错了。这两天大家的心情都很平静，可能是因为大家都知道真正艰险的旅程明天就要开始了。这也意味着美丽的景色和最后的终点也在一步步向我们越走越近。我会沿途拍摄下这美丽的景色与大家分享。

 

其实这些天看到了许多风景，路上也有许多好玩的事情。但是现在回忆起来我的感觉就是我做了一个对自己来说很难的决定。成都到了，我们决定走川藏。这样可以早点回北京，也可以早点见到心里挂念的人。

今天是第18天,一共才写了5篇日记.关键是没有条件,而且每天确实很累.现在我的电脑又坏了,准备寄回北京修理.今天到了汉中,终于有机会写点东西了.那我就先从行程开始.这3天骑了360公里,其中200公里山路,翻越了秦岭,担不是最高峰.昨天和今天的温度分别为39和40度.这两天穿越了2条2公里长的隧道,走到最黑的地方,什么都看不见有点失重的感觉,挺好玩的.我们在路上遇到无数大小狗的袭击,由于我们骑行速度快,没有人员伤亡.我感觉哥几个这两天都疯了,每天不骑个130公里山路就浑身不舒服. 今天我们出了山,遇到了久违的平路,大小腿肌肉开始亢奋,1小时就干了27公里.这几天我们也发现了周围的变化,金黄的麦田变成了碧绿的水稻,山里的大黄牛被水牛取代(他们拉屎比黄牛多).至于建筑还是没有什么太大的变化,看来真的是往世界大同的方向发展了.人麻,还是两个字-善良.说到自己,有时侯感觉空空的,但是我发现疲劳以后想事情精神非常集中.我有时候感觉是不是走得太快了,没有时间好好的品位周围的一切.总感觉以这样的趋势发展下去,可能最后就剩骑车了.这可能不是出行前我的初衷,也许只有事情做完以后才能有感触.不管怎么说,第一个难关算是过去了,后天就入川了,难不难要看什么时候说了.汉中这个城市已经没有过去三国时的痕迹了,我有点伤感(其实我也他妈不懂,但是提上一句给有学问的人看的).我是个怀旧的人,怀念你. 咱们下次再说.