"Stealing" in Macau

I lugged my 3 hole puncher all the way across the ocean, and find out that the new standard is 2 holes. I was dismayed. I've been using 3 holes all my life! It doesn't even make sense! 2 holes!! What about the edges that flap around, untethered? What about 'aiming' for the middle when punching? What about 'aiming' when you want to quickly snap the pages in place? But anyway, I eventually stopped grumbling and organized my notes into a binder.

About a week ago (at least I think it was a week ago....bad sense of time), I went to macau for a day.

Pork buns... serradura...portuguese dinner...biscuits and beef jerky to bring back to loved ones as souvenir...actually, I didn't experience any of the above macau trademarks. When pork buns showed up at a random street stand, my stomach was full of apple green tea. When serradura showed up, my friends were 10 meters ahead of me gawking at some building. When portuguese dinner should theoretically have been the next item on the to-do list, there was cirque du soleil, which was at the other end of Macau. When biscuits and beef jerky, nicely wrapped and fragrant reached my nose, I ran out of money.

But. Cirque du Soleil was crazy awesome. I was so impressed by the beautiful vocals, shimmery colours, and crazy acrobatic feats that I bought the CD (which was very very expensive, even by Canadian standards), AND unwittingly 'stole' another CD. My friend thought I'd forgotten to pick it up from the cash register, so I headed back, grabbed whatever was lying on the table with conviction and marched out of there.

Ooops....

I've been craving pork buns since then.

School started. For the first two weeks, I diligently 'sat' through all the courses in my program so I could pick what interested me the most, and also for learning's sake. 3 hours at night 4/5 days/week + 2 hours travel time was actually quite tiring, so I stopped.

My University's entrance.


Random shipping dock in HK


Macau casino - lots of tacky gold paint






Anyone up for "bungy" jumping?


the venetian...

Some free show.

Feeling Guilty Over Down Time

I did absolutely nothing productive today. It's an uneasy feeling.

At the back of my mind, I think there's something important that I should be doing, except I'm not sure what, and staring at my to-do list isn't make me feel any better. I don't even have the urge to make to-do/goal lists; I used to be obsessed with them.

In any case, my mind is not at peace.

Maybe that's why I love stuffing my schedule to the brim, because it helps me get over the negative feelings of not being efficient/productive/maxing out all the resources I have. But I forgot that "change" is emotional stress that I should account for, and leave 'room' for it to avoid overshooting out of my buffer zone. I'd like to compare this to a titration.


I feel guilty for wanting easy times, because I have a dream, and to get to it, there's bound to be hard work involved. There's no way I can let myself take the 'easy way' out.

However, I'm moving into my new place, so that's a positive change. I want my boxes of STUFF!!!

On a random note, they can choose the sex of mammals now. "Chinese scientists have claimed a commercial breakthrough after breeding 10 piglets whose sex was successfully selected before conception, heralding potential higher profits for farmers."


Picture Roll of the Week

Cap to prevent shampoo from getting into your eyes.


The "Modern Toilet" is a restaurant. You sit on toilets (not shown here)
Humidity is often at 80%...

Random newpaper article...

I love the gloominess, emptiness and loneliness of this picture for some odd reason!
That sign reads "Time to be more chocolate!"

Yum green tea muffin with red bean! It's actually REALLY GOOD!

Crossroads

Fobby drinks and green tea and red bean bread.

Thanks for the encouragement and objective advice with regards to that last post... I was in a dark mood, possibly from being stressed (in short: office lacking important office resources while I was facing deadline. Cramming for an exam.) and unhealthy. See those junky foods in the last post? Yes, I've tried them all!

I woke up feeling a lot better today. Slept early last night for once and got my first exam done and over with. Also realized after some prayer and rest that I'm in a great situation already, and wanting the 'easiest' and 'smoothest' way isn't right.

I may dislike my work now cuz I just started, but I said that in the first month at UHN too, which I ended up loving. I also predisposed myself to not liking the financial industry. Things like financial planning and insurance sound ugly because we're cynical about it--you hear stories of people getting ripped off and pushy salespeople. But really, it's a legit business and there are people whose lives have been positively transformed. I mean, there is going to be evil in any industry, in any work place.

I got the formal acceptance letter, with an option to go full time into the programme. Once rationality kicked in, I decided on PT Msc + PT/FT this job.

My dreams and goals feel sooo far away, but I'm taking "baby steps" as Brar would say!

Speaking of which, I found a file on my computer with his quotes! I can't believe I still have it.... *snorts*

High School Inside Quotes:
“You have two eyes, two legs and two arms. You are fully capable of working. But you let it rot. You sit in front of the TV and do nothing. Those olympic kids out there who are disabled. They don’t have anything but they take what life gives them and they use it to the fullest potential. They are the ones who will cure AIDs and cancer. What will you do? You are just sitting there letting your minds rot.”

“You guys are lazy. You come to class late like a lump on a log, without your hwk done and you sleep. Why? Cuz u spent ur time watching TV last night. Watching Arnold Schwarchenegger. It’s all the same every time. He kicks some villain’s ass, then he fights yaddeeya and he even gets some hot chick in the end. Who cares. I don’t care about J Lo, she’s got the money. You don’t.”

“You guys are scared of trying. There is no harm in trying. (draws lil box diagrams on the blackboard), you are here…you can get here, but you won’t go down here. You come home from school and mom and dad makes you a nice hot meal for you. All you have to do is study. It’s that simple. How hard is it to crack open your math book and do a few questions? You guys are chickens.”

“It’s the same one third of the class. The same one third who comes to class late, the same one third who doesn’t do their homework, the same one third who fails. We’re not doing the assessment. Why bother? I know that that same one third will fail.”

“I don’t stand up here for half an hour putting up math to see if I know it. I know the material, but you don’t. If you fall behind here in this class, think about how you rank in the school, in York Region, in Ontario, and in Canada. You don’t stand a chance. You are lost. I don’t give adamn. Not adamn.”

“If you can do this stuff, you’re laughing, you’re laughing. This is probably the hardest stuff they’ll give you.”

“Three way telephone! Who can factor the fastest?”

Only an ocean away

I've been finding myself more defensive and irritable at home as of late over tiny things (like mom complaining about how the washing machine isn't strong enough and how everything smells like wet mud.) Good things are happening in my life, like meeting great people and discovering new things in HK and I feel that I've settled down somewhat...but I suppose change is still stressful at some level!

The next little while may be filled with difficult decisions and moments, as for most of everyone else my age. There's been a lot on my mind...so many random things that I don't know what/who I'm concerned about anymore. But I know God's in control even when I don't understand (or at least I remind myself!)

I was listening to "Only an ocean away" by Sarah Brightman. For the longest time I didn't know what this song was about, but now I think I kind of understand the lyrics! In any case, it's a beautiful song.

I see a shadow every day and night. I walk a hundred streets of neon lights,
Only when I'm crying. Can you hear me crying.

So many times you always wanted more, Chasing illusions that you're longing for.
Wish I wasn't crying. Can you hear me crying.

There's an ocean between us. You know where to find me. You reach out and touch me.
I feel you in my own heart. More than a lifetime. Still goes on forever.
But it helps to remember You're only an ocean away.

Was there a moment when I felt no pain. I want to feel it in my life again.
Let it be over now. Oh Oh over now.
'Cause I remember all the days and nights We used to walk the streets of neon lights
Oh I want you here with me. Oh be here with me.

Picture Roll:
It's blurry because the pants-with-legs are spinning. I think this exhibit, located in the middle of a mall, is to promote differences in sizes or acceptance of one's body. I think.


The very colourful KCR, colour scheme not unlike that of the DC library at Uwaterloo


Green bread-like somethings... green tea muffins? (saved in my mental to-try queue)


Panthalassa, again. To help you appreciate how fat she is. And how she is magically suspended in the air.


Make your own yogurt and ice cream kits!!




A very green birthday cake slice.


A very precarious game of Jenga.


Sign in the washroom at a cafe not far from the Maid Cafe.


"Clolur". Also, I think they gave up on the English halfway through the sign. Not particularly funny, but just another example of bad english, which prevails all over HK.

(import - May 4, 09) - A Beating Fish Heart

2% milk is actually skim milk with the fat added back in.... so I'm told by a friend of a friend who works in the milk industry in Canada. I think I'm convinced after drinking the milk in HK. It's REALLY good for a lack of better terminology (sorry, I'm still jet lagging).

I went to the wet market as well. Since HK people are paranoid about the swine flu and personal hygiene, the food is actually really clean and amazingly fresh! Chickens are killed and plucked on the spot. Here's a beating fish heart:

I really like green tea. The abundance of green tea inspired products convinces me that perhaps it's a HKnese thing?

Green tea hand cream on the left, and Myoflex on the right as a premptive measure against cramps induced by the amount of walking required in HK to get to places.





My lunch below (green tea noodles with chicken in peanut sauce):


And other strange flavours that I'm not eager to try (the below picture reads: wasabi flavoured sesame and bamboo charcoal flavoured sesame)



And of course, the magical slide-out drawer mentioned in my previous entry.


I met my cousins at the restaurant and they showed me their new toys. Yo-yo, a tamagochi-esque thingy (virtual pet) and a snowman...with legs.



Right next to the restaurant was a capsule toy palace! Unfortunately I didn't have time to look at anything in detail but I did snap a few photos of the rows-upon-rows of capsule toy machines.


Just one case out of four more full of mini capsule toys:

(import) Farewell, Canada!

Toronto looks stunning from high above (ignore the ooohs and aaahs of my parents):

I'm in Korea waiting for the flight that'll take me to Hong Kong. It's the middle of the night, so nothing's open except for a little snack shop selling rice balls and overpriced coffee in a paper cup. The cup reads: "COFFEE: every day I down street with coffee. I smile. Very happy and sunshine."

My mom said it was a spendid poem and that it made perfect sense.

So I made it here relatively healthy and not losing anything. Actually, two hours before my flight, I came down with nausea and upset stomach. I think it might have been due to the strange mix of foods I consumed that day: taro toast for brunch, almond bubble tea and 'egg in milk' at a chinese place for snack. The "milk" was watery, and flaked with yellow bits. It was probably a culture of salmonella, as Prof Butler might say. (And no, I'm sure I didn't get swine flu and helping it spread around the globe).

Luckily, the pepto-bismol worked within hours and my stomach was in great condition when the bi bim bop arrived! But the next meal was an even better surprise--green tea congee! GREEN congee!

Overall, I feel very blessed to have had the chance to see so many people within a span of 7 days. People were really flexible and willing to come down to see me or drive me since I didn't have a car. Thank you!! I really appreciate all the gatherings and surprises... thanks for the english-chinese electronic dictionary (although I'm wondering how I'm going to use that since the menu and instruction manuals are all in chinese). Thanks for the HK guidebook...

I'm happy that I also got to see some people I haven't seen in awhile. I think I really am an extrovert. Even though I was in and out all the time and rush-packing (and throwing things out), I felt energized just from chatting with and spending time with people. So overall, I think I'm ready to start the next stage in life!