Happy New Year! I do wish you, your family and friends being lucky, healthy and successfully in the New Year!

A big thing this week is that an earthquake has broken 6 cables between China and the other countries. The Internet connection was broken and being difficult.

This week, our company has completed our target of the gross annual income to 130%. And just in the last month, we created over 30 millions revenue. I am sure that everyone will have a better income and bonus than last year.

Whole of the achievement has past. We are now thinking of what we are going to do in the New Year. So, I do not have any New Year’s holiday, as most of the people in the company have a rest from Dec 30 to Jan 3. As usual, I go to my office to read all of department's work summaries and plans, financial tables and the policy of the industry and the country, to work on my researching report. Every year, as soon as people finish their holiday, I would give the general manager a work report and mention out my thoughts and suggestions in the New Year. This year, I am a little bit worried, whether I can complete it in 5 days. If I can not do it, I will complete it before the Chinese Spring Festival on Feb 18, 2007.

Even though I am busy in the company, I keep learning art, music and language, as I need water and sunshine.

So, I have signed a contract with a French teacher, who is a native French speaker, to pay 1800 USD for learning 3 French books. The condition is that I have the right to learn at any time I can and I want that the contract will be finished, when I think that I have mastered the 3 books.

When I was working in my first 4 hours with French lesson, I did have too much touching for the huge change in China. Now, I carry my computer to record and make my notes and I paid 600 USD for learning my first French book. In 1978, when I had my first English lesson in the university, I dit not have a recorder and it was difficult to find an English tape anywhere. I bought my first 4 English books with the money for my shoes, even though I was the one who had the highest income within my classmates - I had salary when I was in the university ? because the country wanted to correct the mistake that was made to ask the young students to the countryside when we were in the middle/high school times in the Culture Revolution. As a public elective, all of my formal English lessons were just 120 hours with about 150 people together. So, even though I have been keeping on teaching myself after I left from the university, my English level is poor.

So, I do cherish what I have now, I am sure that I will be better as a French learner than as an English learner, since I have such a good learning condition right now.

I am confident of our company, city and China. I will do my best to start the New Year with hard working and learning with a big smile.

How will you start your new year? Are you confident with yourself, your city and your country?

I am just a learner on art, music, English and the work on the web site in my free time. Anyway, I would really like to do a little bit things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be An Electronic Bridge Of Culture Exchange, Friendship, and Language Learning. During the process to help the others and to improve myself.

I do appreciate your understanding, directions and supports. I do hope to get your great help continuously now and in the coming time...

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirleyz004@yahoo.com. You are welcomed to publish your opinions in the forum.

--Shirley
Written and Edited on Mon, Jan 1, 2007