We took a five-day road trip during China’s National Day holiday, traveling from Beijing to Jin Hai Lake, Jixian, Aranya, and Tangshan. It was a trip filled with laughter, good food, and a sense of calm.

Day 1 – Jin Hai Lake 
I drove carefully at first, making my way to Jin Hai Lake. We set up a canopy and picnic mat on the grass, lazily enjoying the afternoon. Driving through winding mountain roads to the hotel after dark, I didn’t even know how to switch on the high beams and had to follow the car ahead. To our surprise, our room was upgraded to a spacious suite. Dinner at a local restaurant called “Da Lin” was simple but delicious.

Day 2 – Jixian Ancient Town
 After breakfast, the kids played in the indoor playground and made mooncakes. We then headed to Jixian, an ancient town rich in history. Lunch was a hearty pot of stewed fish. We visited Dule Temple and wandered through Yuyang Ancient Street. Parking in the narrow village alley was tricky, but I managed it. The homestay that night was disappointing, but it was just a place to sleep. We had light barbecue for dinner after an overly filling lunch.

Day 3 – Journey to Aranya
 We started the day with a short hike before driving three hours on the highway to Aranya. The hotel was decent, though getting into the gated community wasn’t easy. That night, we planned how to enter the next day and enjoyed seafood—especially the clams, which everyone loved so much we ordered twice.

Day 4 – Aranya
 The morning wind was howling outside. We left around ten and entered Aranya with the help of a “scalper,” which felt a bit like sneaking in. The community had everything—shops, cafes, art—and even though I didn’t do much, it was worth seeing. The kids had a blast on the beach; one got knocked over by waves, the other soaked his pants laughing.

Day 5 – Tangshan and Home
 We slept in, had breakfast, and drove to Tangshan with light traffic all the way. We visited the Earthquake Memorial Park, had lunch at “Tangshan Banquet,” and took a brief stroll near Qiaotou Old Street. As the sun set and the moon rose, we headed home, hearts full and spirits calm.

2025-09-22 TIL: Microsoft Copilot Studio and Process Framework for Microsoft Semantic Kernel

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I heared Microsoft Copilot Studio before, but I didn’t realize it’s similar to the Agent Builder that we want to build and support. Woooo, how can i miss that? Copilot Studio is a grphical, low-code tool for building agents and agent flows.

A collegue shared me the Process Framework for Microsoft Semantic Kernel, which provides a robust solution for automating complex workflows. Each step within the framework performs tasks by invoking user-defined Kernel Functions, utilizing an event-driven model to manage workflow execution.

Xiaoyan woke me at 1 a.m., feeling unwell and wanting to see a doctor before her planned trip to Thailand. At the hospital, tests confirmed acute gastroenteritis, and she decided to cancel her trip.

The late-night visit left me drained, and work felt sluggish all day, with an unfinished diagram still bothering me. In the evening, I played badminton and brought porridge home for Xiaoyan. Tomorrow is our company’s summer event, but my mind is still weighed down by pending tasks.

It rained heavily all day, with the heaviest downpour hitting in the afternoon. Xiaoyan wasn’t feeling well, I met her at the subway and rode her home through the rain, both of us drenched. Work was focused on implementing earlier discussions, and by night, I had a refined architecture diagram I was satisfied with.

The highlight of the day was Hamer’s milestone—30 days straight of sending me her self-recorded ancient poetry recitals without missing a single day. Her dedication and independence made me feel deeply proud.

This Monday felt lighter than usual. Before the Earth Dev meeting, I recorded videos introducing Claude Code and Cline, and in the afternoon, I worked on refining features and discussing tasks.

Breakfast was bread with cheese—our new favorite since Xiaoyan bought some last time. In the evening, we hit the gym for an hour despite the crowd. I also read that GPT-4o will be returned after public demand, valued for its reliability and friendly presence.

A lingering argument from last night carried into the morning, but a second attempt at talking helped Xiaoyan and me clear the air. I realized my delay in installing a shelf had dampened her enthusiasm, and I apologized sincerely.

Later, we went to Mayday’s 5525 concert at the Bird’s Nest—our third time seeing them, but with less excitement this year as Hamer wasn’t with us. The setlist was familiar, with a new “BabyBus” segment. I only truly got into it after the first encore, singing until my voice went hoarse, while Xiaoyan kept a “hotgirl” style.

New songs learned from concert:

• 一颗苹果
• T1213121
• 候鸟
• 孙悟空

Xiaoyan and I hit the gym together for the first time today, working out for about an hour before enjoying brunch and buying cheese for bread. In the afternoon, I assembled a shelf while she got her eyelashes done, then played soccer and scored my first team goal. We ended the day with noodles and skewers.

However, a small disagreement before bed left us both feeling a bit off—Xiaoyan asked me to move my backpack, and I, tired and unwilling, responded curtly. She was upset, but I went to bed without thinking much about it.

I went to the office early, expecting a backup live demo, only to have the meeting postponed ten minutes before it started. I spent the day exploring how to stream both “thinking steps” and final answers, making minor progress but no breakthrough.

It rained nonstop until evening. After dinner with Xiaoyan, we went home, and I turned in early, worn out from the early morning.