Thursday, October 31, 2019

Deconstructing Design Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Deconstructing Design - Thesis Example Furthermore, it demonstrates that this profession has demanding standards, which attract intelligent and motivated people. The general public should thereby also recognise the design profession and the work involved as valuable and a display of intelligence besides being creative. This issue is relevant to the field and worthy of attention because addressing it can help promote the design profession and improve its image as a knowledgeable one. This could make people better aware of what design really involves and its demanding and competitive nature. The techniques used in image making and branding in advertising will be illustrated for the purpose. In addition, examples of works will be given that demonstrate the challenges designers face so that readers appreciate their valuable role in the profession. Simply stated, a designer is a person who designs. A designer therefore specifies certain properties of something that is to be made, created, built or laid out. However, a more precise definition also requires mention of the typical distinguishing qualities found in a designer and the kind of work he or she engages in. For example, an empirical study by Rourke & Sweller (2009) showed that a proper appreciation and identification of a designer’s work requires at least a moderate level of visual literacy skills. This shows that designers themselves must have strong visual literacy skills that enable them to produce the kind of work they do. Moreover, only a designer is able to truly understand the design challenges, both historical and present, that are involved in a work (Kowalski, 2007). As a profession, a designer is one â€Å"who develops solutions to commercial needs that require the balancing of technical, commercial, human and aesthetic requirements† (DIA, 2010). There are many areas in which designers work, so the work handled by a designer determines the type of a designer. For example,

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Ecosystems and Trophic Levels. Tropical Rainforest Assignment

Ecosystems and Trophic Levels. Tropical Rainforest - Assignment Example There is an estimate that approximately 20 to 86 species of trees exist per acre of these forests. Trees lies in several vertical layers named as Emergent layer, Canopy layer, under story layer, shrub layer and ground layer (Davis, 2007). So scientists consider this area as species-richest biomes on this planet that is very unique due to its complex ecosystems. Food Chain: In tropical rainforest there are hundreds of interlinked food chains those when combined result in a complex and huge food web. Tropical rainforests food chain has four levels First level is dominated by plants, fruits, leaves, planktons etc Second level is made up by the herbivores (animals which eat plants) such as insects, small reptiles, nectar eating birds and some large animals such as monkeys, apes etc. Small carnivorous animals (meat eating animals) make the third level and these include rodents, and some small reptiles. Large carnivorous animals such as snakes make the fourth level. Last and fifth level is dominated by the large dangerous carnivores such as pythons, alligators tigers etc. Symbiotic Relationships and energy transfer within various levels: Life in tropical rainforest is difficult and there is a strong competition between different species. Hundreds of species have developed symbiotic relationship with other species in order to survive in such a highly competitive environment. In a symbiotic relationship both species are mutually benefited. ... Primary producers also named as autotrophs are the only living being which use the sunlight energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates (Pipe, 2008). Then comes primary consumers, which consume autotrophs and utilize their energy for their living. In this way energy is transferred from one level to next level. In energy pyramid third and fourth level is occupied by secondary and tertiary consumers. Secondary consumer depends on plants as well as on primary consumers for their energy requirement whereas secondary consumers (carnivore) feed on secondary consumers (Davis, 2007). As energy is transferred from one level to another, it becomes lesser in amount as some energy is lost as heat energy. Indeed only 1.2% of energy is transmitted to the next higher level in this energy pyramid. Decomposers or detritivores form the last level of energy pyramid. Detritivore include bacteria, fungi and virus. And these are the organisms which nourish on dead plants and animals and derive energy by decomposing these dead bodies. In this way they change the complex organic substances of the dead bodies into their simpler form that is further utilized by the plants to synthesize their food. In this way decomposers serve as a link between autotrophs and consumers. Decomposers also serve to clean the environment (Pipe, 2008). Human interference: This valuable resource of earth is under threat due to human activities. Extension in human settlements, need for the more and more agricultural land, construction of roads and need of wood have resulted in quick deforestation of this tropical rainforest. As a result of this deforestation large area has lost its vegetative cover as well hundreds of thousands of other species that inhabited or

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Realist and Constructivist Approaches to Social Problems

Realist and Constructivist Approaches to Social Problems Critically analyse the way social problems are constructed and prioritised for intervention. Distinguish between the realist and construction approaches to social problems and offer an assessment of their value. Apply the relevant social theory to a contemporary social problem such as prostitution. Outlined below is a critical analysis of the way in which social problems are constructed and prioritised for intervention. This critical analysis will aim to distinguish between the realist and the construction approaches to social problems, going on to assess the value of each approach in turn. Then the social theory deemed to be the most relevant would be applied to a contemporary social problem. The realist approach to social problems is an approach that stresses that there is usually underlying causes of issues or phenomena within modern societies. The realist approach to social problems assumes that such problems have short – term and also long – term causes that are actually found ingrained into the social structures of modern societies.[1] The starting point of the realist approach to social problems stress that the underlying social causes of such problems as crime, illegal drug taking, and prostitution are generally more important over the long – term rather than the sometimes more obvious short –term causes of the phenomena being examined.[2] Advocates of the realist approach to social problems frequently contend that sociologists should always delve deeper into the specific social problems that they are evaluating. The realist approach to social problems implies that sociologists delve deeper to find out the affects of factors such as deprivation, discrimination, prejudices, and also poverty.[3] According to the realist approach to social problems these factors whether own their own, or in various combinations with each other are the real underlying causes of social problems. Therefore in many respects the realist approach to social problems has a great deal in common with the Marxist approach to social problems and all related issues. The main difference being that the Marxist approach to social problems would always contend that class and economic conflicts or developments are the root causes of every social problem.[4] The Construction approach to social problems examines the causes of all such social problems from a different perspective than the realist approach to social problems does. Whereas the realist approach to social problems contends that there are nearly always underlying factors causing these social problems, the Construction approach to social problems does not automatically that to be the case. Thus in contrast to the realist approach to social problems the Construction approach assumes that social problems are specifically constructed and that they could actually have causes that are as straightforward as they appeared to be at first glance.[5] The Construction approach to social problems argues that these problems are often constructed at the same time as the societies that they are found inside, and sometimes constructed after the society in question has already become well established. In the Construction approach to social problems it also often implied that the issues that are deemed to be social problems are classified as such due to the prevailing social and moral values within any given society. What is regarded as a social problem in one society might be regarded as being partly or entirely acceptable in another society.[6] For instance different societies have different attitudes towards issues such as homosexuality and prostitution, with more liberal minded societies perhaps not regarding them as social problems at all. Under the Construction approach to social problems various social issues and whether or not they constitute social problems depends upon the subjective values of prevailing social and moral attitudes.[7] Societies are not always entirely agreed as to which social issues can be regarded as being social problems. The Construction approach to social problems therefore finds it useful to argue that it is the strongest or prevailing social and moral attitudes that construct and prioritise social problems and labels them as such.[8] The best of the approaches to social problems to be used to construct and also to prioritise the social problem or problems being examined would be the realist approach to social problems.[9] The strength of the realist approach to social problems is that it would offer the chance to gain an understanding of the underlying causes of social problems. The realist approach to social problems such as drug taking and prostitution gives more extensive explanations than those provided by the Construction approach to social problems does. [10] The realist approach to social problems offers a deeper insight into the underlying causes of problems like prostitution. To begin with the realist approach to social problems would make the sociologists examining the issue look into all the possible underlying causes of prostitution.[11] When following the realist approach to social problems like prostitution sociologists would evaluate the parts that addiction, alienation, desperation, discrimination, sexuality, and violence played in making the problem better or worse.[12] In other words the realist approach to social problems would contend that prostitution was a social problem that demonstrates the unfair, harsh, violent, and frequently hypocritical ways social problems are formed and also understood are actually common in contemporary modern societies.[13] The realist approach to social problems would contend that prostitution has been around for thousands of years in virtually every society that has ever existed, its most obvious cause being that people will pay for sex, and that other people will exchange sexual services for cash payments. According to the realist approach to social problems prostitution has more underlying causes such as prostitutes selling their bodies to make a living, to pay for drink or drug addictions, and more sinisterly they are physically forced into doing it. Whether or not prostitutes undertake their role freely or are forced into it the realist approach to social problems would nearly always argue that they are being e xploited for the financial gains of others. The realist approach to social problems or at least its advocates would contend that prostitution will probably never go away, and the main aim of society should be to protect prostitutes from exploitation, violence, and sexually transmitted diseases.[14] Therefore to conclude the realist approach to social problems is better than the Construction approach to social problems as it allows sociologists the chance to evaluate social issues and social problems in greater detail. The realist approach to social problems offers a better understanding of the constructing and the prioritising of prostitution as a social problem. Bibliography Abercrombie N, Hill S Turner B S, (2000) The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology 4th edition, Penguin Group, London Abercrombie N, (2004) Sociology, A Short Introduction, Polity, Cambridge Cavadino M Dignan J, (2002) The Penal System An Introduction, Sage Publications Lawson T Heaton T, (1999) Crime and Deviance, MacMillan, Basingstoke 1 Footnotes [1] Abercrombie, Hill Turner B, 2000 p. 326 [2] Abercrombie, 2004 p. 25 [3] Abercrombie, Hill Turner B, 2000 p. 312 [4] Abercrombie, 2004 p. 25 [5] Lawson Heaton, 1999 p. 58 [6] Abercrombie, 2004 p. 25 [7] Lawson Heaton, 1999 p. 58 [8] Abercrombie, Hill Turner B, 2000 p. 326 [9] Lawson Heaton, 1999 p. 176 [10] Cavadino Dignan, 2002 p.53 [11] Abercrombie, 2004 p. 25 [12] Abercrombie, Hill Turner B, 2000 p. 326 [13] Cavadino Dignan, 2002 p.53 [14] Lawson Heaton, 1999 p. 58

Friday, October 25, 2019

Frank Lloyd Wright Essay examples -- Essays Papers

Frank Lloyd Wright â€Å".......having a good start not only do I fully intend to be the greatest architect who has yet lived, but fully intend to be the greatest architect who will ever live. Yes, I intend to be the greatest architect of all time.† - Frank Lloyd Wright 1867-1959 CHILDHOOD Born in Richland Center, in southwestern Wisconsin, on June 8, 1867 (sometimes reported as 1869), Frank Lincoln Wright, who changed his own middle name to Lloyd, was raised under the influence of a Welsh heritage. The Lloyd-Jones family, his mother’s side of the family, had a great influence on Wright throughout his life. The family was Unitarian in faith and lived close to each other. Major emphasis within the Lloyd-Jones family included education, religion, and nature. Wright’s family spent many evenings listening to William Lincoln Wright read the works of Emerson, Thoreau, and Blake. His aunts Nell and Jane opened a school of their own, pressing the philosophies of the German educator, Froebel. Wright was brought up in a comfortable, but certainly not warm household. His father, William Carey Wright, who worked as a preacher and a musician, moved from job to another, dragging his family across the United States. Possibly as a result of this upheaval, Wrightâ€℠¢s parents divorced when while he was still young. His mother, Anna, relied heavily upon her many brothers, sisters and uncles, and Wright was intellectually guided by his aunts and his mother. Before Wright was even born, his mother had decided that her son was gong to be a great architect. Using Froebel’s geometric blocks to entertain and educate her son, Mrs. Wright must have struck the genius that her son possessed. Use of imagination was encouraged and Wright was given free run of the playroom filled with paste, paper, and cardboard. On the door were the words, SANCTUM SANCTORUM (Latin for place of inviolable privacy). Wright was seen as a dreamy and sensitive child, and cases of him running away while working on the farmlands with his uncles were noted. This pattern of running away from one thing or another continued throughout his lifetime. WRIGHT’S FIRST BREAK In 1887, at the age of twenty, Frank Lloyd Wright moved to Chicago. During the late nineteenth century, Chicago was a booming, crazy place. With an education in engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Wright found a job as a d... .../snail shell design that seems to grow out of the ground in the heart of New York City. The huge skylight provides light for the entire museum. The design allows people to see the art in a continuous manner. Visitors are intended to take an elevator to the top and walk all the way down, viewing all the exhibits as they descend. Today, after an exhaustive competition, a second building is attached to the museum, providing even more display space. The winning design is a simple, thin tower that is designed not to distract from the beautiful spiral. In true Wright fashion, the architect stated that he did not want to disturb nature, giving the museum its own place in the environment. Wright never retired; he died on April 9, 1959 at the age of ninety-two in Arizona. He was interred at the graveyard at Unity Chapel (which was considered to be his first building) at Taliesin in Wisconsin. In 1985, Olgivanna Wright passed away and one of her wishes was to have Frank Lloyd Wright’s remains cremated and the ashes put next to hers at Taliesin West. After much controversy, this was done. The epitaph at his Wisconsin grave site reads: â€Å"Love of an idea is the love of God.†

Thursday, October 24, 2019

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare Essay

Fairy>. Oberon, Titania Titania displays her ability to be in love but never be ability to find true love. Her feelings for Oberon, Nick, and the changeling are swayed very easily and without notice. When Titania is obsessed with Oberon but becomes intimately attached to the changeling child. However, when Titania is again sprinkled with fairy dew, her affections turn from the child to Nick (Act IV, sc i). The fairies intervene again, and Titania finds herself once again infatuated with Oberon (Act IV, sc i). When exploring the issue love in â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream† comments â€Å"Love, as interpreted by the comic spirit, is a certain fine lunacy in the brain of youth; not an integral part of life, but a disturbing element in it. The lover is a being of strange caprices and strange infidelities, beyond the control of reason, and swayed with every gust of passion. While Titania’s affections are the most intense and deeply felt of anyone’s within in the play, she is unable to maintain her love for any character and is therefore incapable of true love. Oberon seems to be a greedy brute but only a little further on in the play, he acts generously and tries to help the four hopelessly muddled lovers. His character is confusing. Though he starts out brutish, during the course of taking his revenge, he takes pity on both Helena and, later, on Titania herself, as he feels remorse that he has paired her with an ass: â€Å"Her dotage now I do begin to pity.† (4.1.45) There is not much to say about Titania’s conflicts, as she is altered for much of the play, and, therefore, does not have the chance to express her true feelings to the audience. Oberon emerges, therefore, as the centrally conflicted character in the play’s parallel imaginative world. Mortal>. Theseus, Hippolyta True love does not exist between Theseus and Hippolyta. Hippolyta approach to love seems to be indifference. Her love for Theseus does not seem to sway but she also does not make any indication that she is in love with Theseus. In all of the play she does not say a loving word or commit a loving act toward Theseus. Theseus, in the Greek myth, has acquired the love of Hippolyta by killing her family and close friends. Theseus thinks very highly of himself and thinks only of himself. He takes Hippolyta on endless hunting trips and offers the following uninspiring proof of his love, â€Å"My love shall hear the music of my hounds† (Act IV, sc i). The reader must question if Hippolyta enjoys these hunting trips or Theseus. Her general lack of interest answers both questions. Even when Hippolyta attempts to communicate, Theseus is just unwilling to listen (Ac V, sc i). This clearly shows that while Theseus attentions are focused only Hippolyta their relationship is not mutually beneficial. This one of several instances where the audience can see the power of imagination in romance as well as parody of romantic convention†¦see the pain suffered by women to whom men are foolish, insensitive, and even brutal. Young lovers>. Hermia, Lysander Lysander is supposedly in love with Hermia. However, after he is mistakenly sprinkled with dew by Puck, his attentions shift from Hermia to Helena. In Shakespeare’s Comedies, the dialog supports the point that â€Å"Shakespeare uses an ‘outside force’ which interferes in and controls the affairs of men.† He then treats Hermia cruelly with no concern for her well being or emotions. In the play his love for either women is easily switched on and off. Once the fairy love juice wears off Lysander’s attentions again fall on Hermia. The same is true of Demetrius who is also effected by the fairy love potion. He found himself in love with Hermia and his desire for her was â€Å"melted as the snow† however when the juice wears off he laments that he does not know â€Å"by what power† made him fall in love. In William Shakespeare†s a Midsummer Night†s Dream, the erotic absolute will inevitably be embodied in a successful rival. Helena cannot fail to be torn between worship and hatred of Hermia. Imitative desire makes all reciprocal rapports impossible. Demetrius and Lysander are unable to maintain they love for anyone woman calling to question their sincerity and real motives in loving either. Hermia is in love with Lysander but her father, Egeus, decides that she must marry Demetrius instead. She and Lysander decide to elope, and go to the wood outside Athens. Hermia is bewildered when Lysander deserts her, and quarrels with her friend Helena, accusing her of enticing Lysander away from her. Hermia is short and dark, in contrast to Helena. She is also hot-tempered. Helena, Demetrius Demetrius is a young man of Athens, initially in love with Hermia and ultimately in love with Helena. Demetrius’s obstinate pursuit of Hermia throws love out of balance among the quartet of Athenian youths and precludes a symmetrical two-couple arrangement. Helena is young woman of Athens, in love with Demetrius. Demetrius and Helena were once betrothed, but when Demetrius met Helena’s friend Hermia, he fell in love with her and abandoned Helena. Lacking confidence in her looks, Helena thinks that Demetrius and Lysander are mocking her when the fairies’ mischief causes them to fall in love with her. Poor, lovesick Helena pursues her Demetrius throughout the play, much to the dismay of the audience, but what is theater without drama? She is a character the audience can truly come to understand as her emotions are laid bare for all to see. Her misery and humiliation at her betrothed’s rejection and then pursuit of her childhood playmate is so unanswerable that she refuses to give her love and spends her time chasing Demetrius. Eventually, through magic, her lover is restored to her, though the audience is left to decide for themselves whether unnatural (fairy-driven) love is as good as the real thing.   Helena, who are the doubling figures, are in an unresolved situation: Helena loves Demetrius, but Demetrius has only, in the Victorian phrase, trifled with her affections. In the second part we’re in the fairy wood at night, where identities become, as we think, hopelessly confused. At dawn Theseus and Hippolyta, accompanied by Egeus, enter the wood to hunt. By that time the Demetrius-Helena situation has cleared up, and because of that Theseus feels able to overrule Egeus and allow the two marriages to go ahead. At the beginning Lysander remarks to Hermia that the authority of Athenian law doesn’t extend as far as the wood, but apparently it does; Theseus is there, in full charge, and it is in the wood that he makes the decision that heads the play toward its happy ending. At the same time the solidifying of the Demetrius-Helena relationship was the work of Oberon. We can hardly avoid the feeling not only that Theseus is overruling Egeus’s will, but that his own will has been overruled too, by fairies of whom he knows nothing and in whose existence he doesn’t believe. Mechanicals>. Pyramus, Thisbe In A Midsummer Night’s DreamThe workmen’s Lamentable Comedy can be seen as a parody (silly copy) of Romeo and Juliet. There are obvious similarities in the plot (can you say what these are?) but not in the theatrical qualities of the two pieces. In Pyramus and Thisbe we see how not to do things which are done much better elsewhere in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,in Romeo and Juliet or in other plays by Shakespeare. (These include depicting wild animals, a wall, moonlight and killing on stage). Comment on how these things are done both in Pyramus and Thisbe and in the plays proper. Comment on how hard or easy it is for actors to speak the dialogue in Shakespeare’s plays generally, and to speak the verse we meet in Pyramus and Thisbe (look at the end of the Prologue, and the dying speeches of the two lovers). The danger is always a performance like Pyramus and Thisbe, in which imagination and reality are not sufficiently balanced to create the illusion a successful play requires to work its magic. The ideal seems to be a performance in which reality is neither so openly flouted as to make the play unbelievable, nor rendered so literally as to make it ridiculous, but is balanced with imaginative pretense in such a way as to manifest the purpose of playing itself, the channeling of nature by art into harmonious and satisfactory patterns. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare Essay ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is a romantic comedy and one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays or stories. The main characters of this story are Oberon, Titania, Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena. This story deals with marriage, family, elope and comedy. Hermia elopes with her lover Lysander to get married and Demetrius who loves Hermia follows them into while Helena, Hermia’s friend and Demetrius’ lover, follows Demetrius into the forest. Meanwhile, Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies in the forest, have an argument which causes tension between them. Is the forest a magical place? Yes, it is because all the characters in the forest reconcile. The story starts off with Egeus, father of Hermia, reporting to Theseus, King of Athens at that time, that his daughter refused to obey him when he commanded his daughter to marry Demetrius, a man of a noble Athenian family. There was a strict law in the city of Athens that if a daughter refused to marry the man her father had chosen, she would be put to death. Hermia had not loved Demetrius but she loved another Athenian, Lysander. She also didn’t want to marry him because her best friend, Helena, loved Demetrius and she wanted to stay loyal. Theseus could not alter the laws the rules of his country so he could only give Hermia four days to reconsider her decision or else she would be put to death. Lysander was informed about this and proposed to Hermia that they should elope to his aunt’s house outside of Athens, where the laws were not applied. Demetrius heard of this and thus, he followed them into the forest. Helena was afraid of losing Demetrius forever so therefore she followed him into the forest. Demetrius reproached Helena for following him but Helena tried to remind him of his former love and true faith to her. Demetrius, after saying many cruel things to Helena, abandoned her while Helena still raced after him. Oberon and Titania are the King and Queen of the Fairies respectively. They were having a disagreement when Titania refused to give Oberon a changeling boy. Titania dotes over this child which makes Oberon jealous. Oberon wants to make the boy part of his entourage. Titania refuses to give the boy up, hence the conflict. They lived in the magical forest. Oberon had a counsellor, Puck. Oberon observed the conflict between Demetrius and Helena. Oberon was always friendly to true lovers and felt sorry for Helena. He reported this to Puck  and commanded him to use a piece of the purple flower, which has a ‘love-juice’, and use it on Demetrius to make him fall in love with Helena. Oberon described him as wearing Athenian clothes. Puck found a man in Athenian clothes but it turned out be Lysander who was sleeping next to Hermia. Puck poured the love-juice into his eyes and the first person he saw he would fall in love with. The next morning, Helena would find Hermia and Lysander. When Lysander woke up, he saw Helena in front of him and immediately fell in love with her. Helena was confused and then she became angry with Lysander. She thought that he was pulling a sick prank on her. Oberon and Puck soon realized what happened. Oberon scolded Puck and Puck found Demetrius asleep. Puck applied the love-juice to his eyes and when Demetrius woke up, he first saw Helena and became in love with her. Ironically, what had first started out as Lysander and Demetrius chasing Hermia with Helena left behind, now had turned into Lysander and Demetrius chasing Helena with Hermia left behind. Helena outraged, thinking it was a prank, got herself into a war of words with Hermia. Oberon and Puck observed the chaos he caused and immediately attempted to fix it. Puck wearied them out by getting them lost and removed the charm from the eyes of Lysander with an antidote to reverse the effects and forget his new love for Helena. After, everything was back to normal Hermia was with Lysander and Helena was with Demetrius. Meanwhile, Oberon, longing for the changeling boy, had poured some love-juice on Titania to make her give it up. When Oberon had returned, he found a clown sleeping next to her. He put a donkey’s head on him and Titania fell in love with the clown. Oberon seized the chance and demanded the changeling boy which she unwillingly accepted. Soon, Oberon had poured some juices of another flower and had brought her back to her senses. She immediately loathed the sight of the monster. All the couples in this story reconciled. Egeus understood Demetrius not wanting to marry his daughter but Helena and Egeus accepted the marriage between Lysander and Hermia. The forest is truly a magical place because what had started as elope, disagreements and hatred turned out be union, harmony and love.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Marriages are Made in Heaven

Wearing the school uniform, Yu arrived at the food shop operated by her parents in Taichung. â€Å"Mom,† said Yu, â€Å"Give me a sandwich for lunch†¦ quick please! I'm going to be late.† â€Å"So why didn't you have your lunch in school? You won't be late if you did do so†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The mother mumbled. â€Å"I'm sorry.† Yu dared not to argue with her mother. After fetching the sandwich, she had to rush to school in a hurry. She's only young once. That year she was a seventeen-year-old girl in Taiwan. That was a sunny day. When Yu was on her way home, she saw a group of people filming movie in the street. â€Å"Action!† A man with sun-glasses shouted. Driven by curiosity, Yu stood aside and watched. Suddenly a man came into her sight— he was ordinary and was about twenty something years old. He sat on the stairs nearby for taking a rest. Yu noticed that he hurt his leg. He was bleeding! Being always kind-hearted, she went in front of the man, gave him a tissue paper and then asked him softly, â€Å"Are you alright?† â€Å"Thanks,† The man nodded and smiled, â€Å"I'm fine. It doesn't matter.† It was about half past six already. Yu could not go back home too late or else she would be punished, â€Å"I need to go now†¦ bye!† â€Å"Bye,† the man responded. â€Å"What a lovely girl!† he thought. It had been one week since the day Yu met the man. From that day onward, Yu went and watched the movie filming after school everyday. She did enjoy watching it. But, somehow she found that chatting with that man named Paul was indeed much more fun. â€Å"Yu, why are you so late again?† mother asked. â€Å"Sorry mom,† Yu answered, â€Å"I have so many things to do in school these days.† Yu returned to her bedroom, writing her diary: â€Å"Watching the movie filming after school has become part of my daily life! Paul is so humorous! He told me lots of things today. Surprisingly, he was born in a poor family in Hong Kong; this made him not to have the chance of studying in secondary school. Therefore, he started working when he was just about 14 years old. With relative low educational level but has a great knowledge in Chinese kung fu, he applied for the movie stunt man†¦ Well I think Paul's life is extra-ordinary. By the way, he got much better now. I mean the new cut on his hand has healed up already! Thanks God! Besides, he†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  Paul gave a bunch of red roses to Yu. â€Å"Happy birthday!† he said. Yu was glad, â€Å"thank you so much! This is my first time receiving flowers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yu,† Paul felt a bit embarrassed, â€Å"Could I†¦ have dinner with you tonight?† â€Å"Sure!† Yu answered, â€Å"But let me go home and get dressed first.† â€Å"Okay. I will wait for you in front of the Good Luck Restaurant. See you!† Paul said. Yu was really excited. Paul always gave her a surprise. He was great. So far, he was the only one who would give her such special feelings. â€Å"Mom,† Yu said, â€Å"I need to go out for dinner†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"With whom?† mother wondered, â€Å"And why? We have prepared something to celebrate your birthday already†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"With my friends†¦ I mean my classmates. They have booked a table in the restaurant to celebrate with me, that's why I couldn't refuse them. I promise you, I will go back home before ten o'clock and then celebrate with you again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Yu went out of her bedroom. She was already dressed and prepared to go out, â€Å"I need to go now. Bye mom!† She went out quickly, leaving her mother looking at the bunch of roses questioningly, â€Å"What's going on with my daughter?† Paul and Yu were sitting at the table near the windows of the Good Luck Restaurant. â€Å"Yu, do you know†¦ it has been thirty-three days since I first met you.† Paul said. â€Å"Oh you still remember?† Yu was delighted. â€Å"Yes I do. I remember†¦ every moment being with you†¦ always.† They smiled, looking at each other. After that Paul abased his head, â€Å"actually, the movie filming is going to finish within these few days.† â€Å"Oh†¦ where will you go then?† Yu was nervous. â€Å"I will go back to Hong Kong†¦ I may not see you in the near future. Therefore, I want to tell you something important before I leave†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Paul said it seriously, â€Å"Yu, I don't want to be your friend†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What?† Yu didn't understand. Paul fixed his eyes on Yu, â€Å"I mean, I want to be your boyfriend!† â€Å"Boy†¦ boyfriend?† â€Å"Yes. Because I love you†¦ truly love you that I c an no longer treat you as my ordinary friend!† Time was still. It seemed that they were the only two people in the whole world†¦ Yu had got into a big trouble. Those days without Paul were lengthy and lonely. Every time when she thought of the time being with Paul, every time when she thought of the words Paul told her on her birthday, every time when she thought of the promise made by Paul†¦ it was really a kind of torture! Nothing would be sadder than two people who love each other so much being separated. Paul had gone for nearly a year already. In these days, Yu could only communicate with him by writing letters. If it was possible, Yu would phone him. They missed each other a lot and their love never stopped growing. Sometimes, when Yu was in a weak moment, she wondered if the relationship between her and Paul could keep long. Paul was in Hong Kong whereas she was in Taiwan. She promised him she would write many many letters to him, but was it enough to maintain their love? Would their love be a â€Å"soon got, soon gone† one? He promised her he would marry her when he got enough money, but was it a joke? Would it be fulfilled? Hardly could Yu see her future through a mist. Anyway she would wait for Paul. Yu's mother noticed her daughter's suspicious acts, having checked her daughter's diary and letters, she knew that her daughter had fallen in love with a guy called â€Å"Paul†. She started questioning and arguing with Yu, â€Å"tell me!† she shouted at Yu, â€Å"who is Paul? You think that I know nothing else right?† Yu was angry too, â€Å"I want to ask you too! Why did you read my diary and letters without asking me? You never respect me!† Yu cried, â€Å"I don't understand why you never give me the freedom to do what I want to do!† Mother bemused. Never could she think that her daughter would talk to her in this way. The â€Å"cold war† between Yu and her mother thus broke out. They stopped talking to each other for nearly half month. Yu's father, who was always a clam but a mind reader, understood everything clearly and tried to do something rebuilding the relationship between Yu and her mother. â€Å"Yu,† father told her, â€Å"you should tell your mother what you feel. And, if it can be done, introduce that guy to your mom.† Yu was worried, â€Å"Paul will come to Taiwan again next week. He said, he's going to marry me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And do you wish to? Are you sure? Marry in haste, and repent at leisure†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Yu's father was shocked, but he kept calm. â€Å"I did think about it deeply before.† Yu said, â€Å"Marriage is a lottery. Once you meet your Mr. Right, you should not give him up. I truly know what I am doing, what I am looking for.† â€Å"So bring him here,† Father promised, â€Å"I will always support you.† A tense atmosphere. Sitting on the sofa, mother stared at Paul. â€Å"Yu told me that†¦ you are a movie stunt man?† â€Å"Yes auntie† Paul answered politely. â€Å"Maintaining a family is not easy. It is the responsibility for a man to take good care of his family†¦ provide all the best for his family†¦ you know what I mean?† â€Å"I have stable salaries. And, I live in a flat in Hong Kong with my mom†¦ though it's not very big. I have the ability to take good care of my family— I'm sure, though I'm not rich†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Paul stressed. â€Å"So have you studied in any university†¦ or any secondary school?† Mother was being so mean. â€Å"No,† Paul replied, â€Å"but I don't think that it's a big problem— at least, I can earn a living now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Fine. Do you think that Yu can accommodate herself to a strange place? If she goes to Hong Kong with you†¦ I will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Yu's mother couldn't control her emotio n. She was in tears. â€Å"Mom,† Yu also melt into tears, â€Å"I know you love me so much†¦ But the point is, I don't want to marry a person that I know that I can live with; I only want to marry someone that I cannot live without!† In silence. Yu's father touched her wife on the shoulder, â€Å"let her go†¦ she has the right to choose.† In the wedding ceremony, the bridegroom and the bridge were a good match. â€Å"Yu,† Paul said, â€Å"I will make a good match for you.† Yu smiled, â€Å"later, I can prove to my dad and mom that, I had made a good match too.† This is the end of this story. However, it is just a new start between Paul and Yu. Their own story will continue, until the end of their lives.