visit of the superVIPs

After the relaxing week of sickness (as mentioned in the last post), I got down to work on making some visitors to our company as luxurious as possible down to the last detail (that is a huge story on its own, including fulfilling shopping lists and elaborate VIP rooms in which apparently I went overbudget on), but really I don't want to delve into that hugely stressful affair.

Fortunately, Chinese New Year is just around the corner, which will elevate everyone's moods and the number in my bank account. I'm feeling particularly broke at the moment, having splurged on a kindle for my fiance, and on a bag (oh wait, he paid for the bag), a new ipad cover (the ipad itself I got from my company through my boss as a christmas present--he was in a super generous mood at the time), wedding photos (to be done in march 2012), and on a few family-friend dinners that I was obligated to pay for.

I made a few resolutions:

1. take the CRE (a government-standardized chinese examination) in June of this year.

- I'm going to study during every lunch period in the library.

2. be more humble - not a very popular concept, but I realize that the greatest people in the world who commend respect are those who are humble, willing to learn and become wise. It's also easier to accept instruction, advice and even rebuke if you have a humble attitude.

³³ 敬 畏 耶 和 華 是 智 慧 的 訓 誨 ； 尊 榮 以 前 ， 必 有 謙 卑 。 - 箴 言 15:33

3. be more kind - this goes with number 2. if you are humble, you are more willing to serve other people, and you will do beyond what you normally would do for someone.

4. take my work seriously and do everything to my best of ability, and be less half-assed.

- if I'm going to be working for the rest of my life, I might as well do it well, and do it with joy. And my action plan is to...intake more coffee. (haha kidding) I'm going to pray for the above and post relevant Bible proverbs around the house.

5. Make more plush

6. Become more flexible - joined a pilates class

7. Arrange some music - make piano arrangements for songs from Exaltios

New cute plushy (the sheep, which plays a lullaby when wound up)

shot from HK history museum...a crane badge signifying civil official of the 1st rank, obtained through taking imperial examinations
another shot from museum... hand written exam paper... so incredibly mind-boggling neat
ocean park trip from this month.
panda sticks face in a water canister.

A trip to Lantau Island with a super nice professor from harvard (where the airport and HK disneyland is, which is bigger but nowhere closely as populated as Hong Kong Island):

incense


old houses on stilts in Tai O, Lantau Island


the making of preserved salted egg yolks for putting in mooncakes and stuff...

Gundam expo:

Cute printed tissue and tissue box
random but pretty carousel
Bad english...

Sneakers under the wedding dress...sneaky!

big long overdue update...

~SICKNESS~

I had the best bout of sickness ever. The stomach flu worked for me in such positive ways I'm glad for it.

1. I got a day of sick leave, in which I did nothing but lie in bed and watch anime. There was the option of taking a second day off (which I didn't). I looked deathly (but didn't feel the part, haha!) for a day which elicited sympathy from people around me.

2. Because my body was focused on healing itself that I didn't give a flying crap about things that would normally be annoying, worrying or stressful. It was a therapeutic and enlightening experience.

3. I didn't eat solid food for 4 days (plus diarrhea to boot)...which means instant weight lost! When I could start eating food again, my stomach was still pretty queasy, which means I can eat whatever fattening foods I want without fear of it absorbing properly. It also gave me freedom to be picky about my food (I can tell my parents I don't want to eat something and they can't force me. haha!)

4. Restful 9 straight hours of sleep 3 days straight! The best part is... it wasn't like I felt sleepy when awake and doing stuff.

The buffet dinner my bf took me out for for my birthday (this was before the illness, and no it wasn't the cause)

These lobsters were actually consumed, but in such a skillful clean way that we were able to put them together again.

Went with friends to clean a beach in HK
Look what we found!

~WEDDING STUFF~
Okay, so wedding preparations update. So far, we've booked two photography places; one is an indoor shooting that my mom said was our practice run and her birthday present to me; and the other was the real thing, that will take the whole day (with Mona Lisa bridal). The real thing will be in March 2012 because apparently, it takes them 4 months to have ready our photos, and apparently, there are only two good seasons for photo taking outside in HK. I also went for some gown fitting, bought a girdle, and got the greatest wedding shoes ever....

These cost HK139. That's like 18 bucks Canadian. My mom will stick some blingish stickers on the front. Of course, nobody will be able to see clearly exactly what I'm wearing under my frothy dress. HohoHOho! Comfort and function is clearly very important.

Now we are starting to think of where we're going to live, which is contingent on a lot of factors, one of which is overall housing prices and government housing related schemes (these are probably unique aspects that couples have to think about, as the real estate market is very volatile here). Our mutual parents believe it's in our best interest if we were close to either of them.

~GRADUATION~

Finally, I've graduated from my Msc, the top student of my class. Alas, I don't get a scholarship... just a metal block to put at home. Unfortunately, I'm not particularly enthusiastic about graduating; only glad that I've gone through it and not have to go to class anymore. My only issue is that it feels more bought than earned. But it was a choice I made then to enroll, and I don't blame myself too much I suppose. That's why I would advise anyone thinking of going into a master's program (especially full time; mine was just part time), they should really think carefully and maybe gain more work experience first before taking the plunge.

~DEBUT!~

The christian music band I was involved in just made its debut! Check out the songs (most are cantonese): www.exaltios.com