Hello,
Some people got into complaining my decision of not posting here anymore. Well, with those complaints taken into account, I thought I'll do a compromise. I'll copy/paste here my posts from "You don't know China", and perhaps I'll post here my more personal stuff that don't really fit the framework of a united blog of friends.
Anyways. I moved on. I've moved to a new apartment. I quit my old job and have a new one now. And with old job gone, so was the old apartment (which was arranged by the old company).
The new apartment is in a village area of Hong Kong called Kam Tin (it’s under Yuen Long district). It’s a very, very traditional style area in Hong Kong and if you’re thinking skyscrapers or high-rise apartments, you can stop right there. There’s nothing here that is taller than 10 meters. And I live in ground floor – not 48th like before.
Outside we got dirt, bugs, smells and all the fancy things that make a place authentic and real. Inside, so far, I’ve killed a few ants, one small cockroach, a spider and things I’m not even sure what they were. My building is inside a wall of other buildings with distances from 1 to 4 feet of each others. Building next doors is over 100 years old. My main view in all windows is a brick wall.
I fully-heartedly enjoy this place, however. It’s something completely different, again, from anything I’ve experienced so far. The lifestyle is very different, the people are very different and the whole structure of life here is very different. When you think of Hong Kong you think of skyscrapers, shopping malls and modern big city life. When you think of Kam Tin, you think different.
So, why I moved to Kam Tin?.. The price. My apartment is HKD 2,600 a month which is C-H-E-A-P in Hong Kong standards. Later, once I have more savings I may move out, perhaps. Let's see how it goes. Anyway, I haven’t had the chance to take many pictures yet but I will. I was going to today, but we got a nasty rain until now and I didn’t feel like getting wet – again.
In the last two days I’ve gone out four times. Three times I got surprised by rain without me having an umbrella. Fourth time I went out and had an umbrella. It stopped raining after a minute. It’s not an easy life. Also, there was a T8 typhoon warning yesterday, I went shopping for some additional cabinets for my new apartment (the second time I was out). While I was walking outside the wind threw a speck into my eye and it hurt. Typhoons are a serious matter!!
To drag this post once more off-topic, let it be noted that the younger generation of my girlfriend’s extended family now refer to me as 哈囉哥哥 (haalougogo) which basically means Hello Brother (older brother) which I assume is because the only thing I say at family gatherings is “hello” to everyone, as I come in. And then I sit mute until the rest of the evening. Nice.
Anyway, off now. With my current and changed life-situation I’m sure I’ll be posting more, and I’ll be having more to post about too.
Tchau.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Up to a new location
Me and some Asia-living Gweilo friends united forces into a united blog of Asia-living Gweilo friends. I will stop posting here and post there instead.
So, forget about this place and head to "You Don't Know China".
So, forget about this place and head to "You Don't Know China".
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Fengshen
From our friends at the Hong Kong Observatory:
-------------------------------------------------------
Tropical Cyclone Bulletin
Here is the latest Tropical Cyclone Bulletin issued by the Hong Kong Observatory.
The Strong Wind Signal, No. 3 was issued at 4:40 p.m.
This means that winds with mean speeds of 41 to 62 kilometres per hour are expected.
At 5 p.m., Severe Tropical Storm Fengshen was estimated to be about 200 kilometres south-southeast of Hong Kong (near 20.8 degrees north 115.2 degrees east) and is forecast to move north or north-northwest at about 16 kilometres per hour in the general direction of the Pearl River Estuary.
Fengshen continues to edge closer to Hong Kong. Local winds are expected to strengthen gradually and seas will be rough.
According to the present forecast track, Fengshen will be rather close to Hong Kong in the early morning tomorrow. The possibility of issuing Gale or Storm Wind Signal No.8 cannot be ruled out.
(Precautionary Announcements with No. 3 Signal)
1. You are advised not to delay in taking all precautions to protect your home or property. Make sure now that all loose objects are secure. Porch furniture, flower pots and other objects likely to be blown away should be taken indoors. Check again and make sure all windows and doors can be securely locked.
2. Storm water drains should be cleared of leaves and rubbish, this applies particularly to dwellers in low-lying areas.
3. Engineers, architects and contractors are again reminded that all scaffoldings, hoardings and temporary buildings should be secured.
4. Fishing vessels not yet in typhoon shelters should seek shelter without delay. Check again that all deck fittings are firmly fastened. If available, heavy anchors should be prepared and used in addition to regular anchors.
-------------------------------------------------------
So, the severe tropical storm (a lesser type Typhoon) Fengshen is coming our way, and will pass us very, very close. It is highly likely that we'll get the Typhoon Signal 8 which is the highest in its scale - meaning that everyone should stay indoors and pray for the best.
Well, I called my girlfriend to let her know of the development (not long ago it seemed that Fengshen would pass us by safe distance) and that we might get Signal 8 this time - and her comment was "Oh, nice."
However, her main concern was that Fengshen would probably pass us by so quickly that it doesn't get to affect our work-life. It will be closest-by around 2-3am, so by 9am it might be far away enough to drop the warning signal back to 3, which means we have to go to work.
So, whereas everyone else in Asia is afraid of Typhoons for the devastation they bring, people in Hong Kong are afraid typhoons pass too fast - and they can't stay home for a few extra hours, or a day.
Such is life.
-------------------------------------------------------
Tropical Cyclone Bulletin
Here is the latest Tropical Cyclone Bulletin issued by the Hong Kong Observatory.
The Strong Wind Signal, No. 3 was issued at 4:40 p.m.
This means that winds with mean speeds of 41 to 62 kilometres per hour are expected.
At 5 p.m., Severe Tropical Storm Fengshen was estimated to be about 200 kilometres south-southeast of Hong Kong (near 20.8 degrees north 115.2 degrees east) and is forecast to move north or north-northwest at about 16 kilometres per hour in the general direction of the Pearl River Estuary.
Fengshen continues to edge closer to Hong Kong. Local winds are expected to strengthen gradually and seas will be rough.
According to the present forecast track, Fengshen will be rather close to Hong Kong in the early morning tomorrow. The possibility of issuing Gale or Storm Wind Signal No.8 cannot be ruled out.
(Precautionary Announcements with No. 3 Signal)
1. You are advised not to delay in taking all precautions to protect your home or property. Make sure now that all loose objects are secure. Porch furniture, flower pots and other objects likely to be blown away should be taken indoors. Check again and make sure all windows and doors can be securely locked.
2. Storm water drains should be cleared of leaves and rubbish, this applies particularly to dwellers in low-lying areas.
3. Engineers, architects and contractors are again reminded that all scaffoldings, hoardings and temporary buildings should be secured.
4. Fishing vessels not yet in typhoon shelters should seek shelter without delay. Check again that all deck fittings are firmly fastened. If available, heavy anchors should be prepared and used in addition to regular anchors.
-------------------------------------------------------
So, the severe tropical storm (a lesser type Typhoon) Fengshen is coming our way, and will pass us very, very close. It is highly likely that we'll get the Typhoon Signal 8 which is the highest in its scale - meaning that everyone should stay indoors and pray for the best.
Well, I called my girlfriend to let her know of the development (not long ago it seemed that Fengshen would pass us by safe distance) and that we might get Signal 8 this time - and her comment was "Oh, nice."
However, her main concern was that Fengshen would probably pass us by so quickly that it doesn't get to affect our work-life. It will be closest-by around 2-3am, so by 9am it might be far away enough to drop the warning signal back to 3, which means we have to go to work.
So, whereas everyone else in Asia is afraid of Typhoons for the devastation they bring, people in Hong Kong are afraid typhoons pass too fast - and they can't stay home for a few extra hours, or a day.
Such is life.
Friday, 13 June 2008
Mob and mobility
In my last post I mentioned getting a new phone. Even after one week I still play with it like a child with a new toy. It's not a toy, however, but sadly I must admit that I have very little use for its many, many, many functions. If I worked in a proper company where being reachable 24/7, carrying a portable office with me, and having all sorts of meeting schedules was important, this would be the best thing ever. As it is not so, most functions are just "cool", "interesting" or "fun".
Well, in any case, it's nice to have all those funky functions and adjustable settings at hand. It'll take some time for me to actually utilize all it can offer, but I'm getting there.
There are a few things about the phone that bother me a bit, though. First thing is the battery life, which isn't really anything to brag about. I'm happy if I can go one day without charging. Of course, I'm probably using functions that take much processing power too much, leading to fast depletion of battery. In stand-by mode, the phone is like any other, and takes practically no power to run.
Other thing that bothers me is the alarm clock. My phone runs with Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, and while being really good and fast (surprisingly so!) otherwise, for some reason it doesn't allow for custom alarm sounds. So, I got crappy pre-set alarms to choose from, none which I'd like to wake up to. There are ways to go around it, but it's too troublesome and without any good result. I also checked for 3rd party alarm software to my phone, but most I have to pay for and the free ones are even suckier than the original.
With those two aspects that annoy me aside, the phone is perfect. I like it. I've never had a phone more complicated than the absolute basic functions, and it's a funny feeling carrying a phone like this around - something with more processing power and functions than my early PC's.
That's about that. No more will I say about my phone.
Below is a random picture taken in Wan Chai. American Restaurant with Peking Food... So which are you getting? Chinese or American? It's kind of like the "Real American Bacon from Finland" that you see in some Finnish grocery stores. I don't know.. just random.
I was going to write more stuff today.
But it won't.
Well, in any case, it's nice to have all those funky functions and adjustable settings at hand. It'll take some time for me to actually utilize all it can offer, but I'm getting there.
There are a few things about the phone that bother me a bit, though. First thing is the battery life, which isn't really anything to brag about. I'm happy if I can go one day without charging. Of course, I'm probably using functions that take much processing power too much, leading to fast depletion of battery. In stand-by mode, the phone is like any other, and takes practically no power to run.
Other thing that bothers me is the alarm clock. My phone runs with Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, and while being really good and fast (surprisingly so!) otherwise, for some reason it doesn't allow for custom alarm sounds. So, I got crappy pre-set alarms to choose from, none which I'd like to wake up to. There are ways to go around it, but it's too troublesome and without any good result. I also checked for 3rd party alarm software to my phone, but most I have to pay for and the free ones are even suckier than the original.
With those two aspects that annoy me aside, the phone is perfect. I like it. I've never had a phone more complicated than the absolute basic functions, and it's a funny feeling carrying a phone like this around - something with more processing power and functions than my early PC's.
That's about that. No more will I say about my phone.
Below is a random picture taken in Wan Chai. American Restaurant with Peking Food... So which are you getting? Chinese or American? It's kind of like the "Real American Bacon from Finland" that you see in some Finnish grocery stores. I don't know.. just random.
I was going to write more stuff today.
But it won't.
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Black Rain
Black Rainstorm Warning Signal Special Announcement issued by the Hong Kong Observatory at 6:40 a.m.
The Rainstorm Warning Signal is now Black. This means that heavy rain has fallen or is expected to fall generally over Hong Kong, exceeding 70 millimetres in an hour, and is likely to continue.
Because of seriously flooded roads and inclement weather conditions, you are advised to take shelter in a safe place and stay there. Parents, students, school authorities and school-bus drivers should listen to radio or television announcements on schools. Do not attempt to travel until the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is no longer in force and traffic conditions have improved.
Please listen to radio or watch television for traffic conditions and further announcements on the rainstorm.
Yep, I noticed. It kept me awake for good part of the night. Thunder and Lightning! So, finally around 10am when I could be arsed up my bed, I decided to take a few pictures.
The warning says "take shelter and don't go anywhere". Well, I never really understood the big fuss over some little rain. But then, we rarely get rain like this in Finland.
Chi got a call earlier this morning not to go to work untill weather calms down. Good for her, can sleep later.
For me, the awake-keeping thunderstorm, really wasn't all that great. I had only 4 hours of sleep from previous night as I had to wake up at 5am to go for a business trip in China, and I got off from work around 22:30 (got back to Hong Kong around 19:00 and still had to go to office to finish up some stuff). So, having a long day behind me, I kind of wanted to sleep plenty and late today. No such luck.
Stupid weather.
Oh, and Chi bought me a € 500 mobile phone. Nice. Just out of the blue she bought that thing. I had been looking at the phone for several months already, but never really thought I could buy it. I really wanted it, but a bit too expensive. Or so I thought. Well, now I go it! I need to pay back a bit to Chi, however, since I can't just accept her spending that much on a surpise present.
Info here.
It's a nice phone. I know it comes with Windows, but it seems to be working fine so far.
Below pictures from today, from my balcony.
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Whiplash
If you plan to go see Indiana Jones 4 and don't want to completely ruin the experience, don't read this post. This will ruin the experience.
Like so many, I was waiting for Indiana 4 like it was the second coming (well, the fourth). I educated myself about the coming movie from making-off clips published online, and later from review in magazines.
The movie works surprisingly well, and Harrison Ford does an awesome role as Indiana - so good infact, that sometimes I kind of forgot how old he is, and felt definite connection between this and the earlier movies. Also, the young kid does a really good role, and really fits his role wery well.
There's a lot of good old style Indiana Jones humor, and though special effects have taken their place in the movie, a lot of the original feeling is still there.
That was the good things.
Special effects... It is amazing how much you can do these days with computers; to really fool the audience into believing in all the spectacular things. Basically since Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park, we've seen completely realistic CGI's in movies. With Lord of the Rings, the technology peaked for a while, and what they did in the moview was simply awesome (aside from a few Legolas shots).
Well, then came the new Star Wars movies. They proved that even with big money your CGI can suck.
The came several other movies.
I am Legend.
With a budget like that you'd expect to get much more than what they had in I am Legend. If there is anything that ruins that movie (a good one too) it's the fake-looking CGI. They don't fit. They don't look real. They don't work the magic they're supposed to.
Well, guess what? Indiana Jones has plenty of that going on. CGI that doesn't seem real.
The storytelling of the movie was quite clumsy. You don't really feel the movie as such: you don't get into it. It feels distant. There is way too much action compared to actual storytelling. You know, kind of like the over-long sword scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. There are life-or-death situations and it seems no one is even worried by it. It's acrobatics. Clever shots without any depth into them.
The plot of the movie is not anything to shout about. It sucks. I mean, the story around the plot is ok, but the plot itself... I mean, who cares about a stupid crystal skull? Especially once you start learning the plot has more to it than supernatural.
From the reviews I learned that there would be some lame references of how the South American Indians were in contact with aliens, and how they helped the Indians to build their cities and temples, and brought them technology.
Well, you can rest assured and curse the gods for Indiana Jones 4 has references to aliens. In fact, it HAS aliens. Aliens and paranormal. Way to go Lucas, thank you!
And to make it worse, the aliens are made in that crappy CGI!! If there is one way to ruin a perfectly good movie series, it is changing everything about it and letting people hope you didn't ruin it too badly. Well, I hoped. No reward. The movie has crappy CGI and aliens. Way to go Lucas, thank you!
I can only imagine how much better the movie would've been if they had just tossed all post-1990 technologies away from movie-making, and concentrated on the plot instead.
In the Making-of documentary of the original movies, Lucas and Spielberg say Temple of Doom was the least good of the three. So my question is, why would you try to repeat Temple of Doom - instead of Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Last Crusade?... And even failing in repeating Temple of Doom.
Well, it's a nice movie still. Just don't fool yourself into thinking it's another Indiana Jones.
National Treasure was better. And it hurts me to say that. It really does.
Thank you Lucas. First you ruined Star Wars, now you ruined Indiana Jones. Luckily that leaves very little for you to ruin anymore.
Like so many, I was waiting for Indiana 4 like it was the second coming (well, the fourth). I educated myself about the coming movie from making-off clips published online, and later from review in magazines.
The movie works surprisingly well, and Harrison Ford does an awesome role as Indiana - so good infact, that sometimes I kind of forgot how old he is, and felt definite connection between this and the earlier movies. Also, the young kid does a really good role, and really fits his role wery well.
There's a lot of good old style Indiana Jones humor, and though special effects have taken their place in the movie, a lot of the original feeling is still there.
That was the good things.
Special effects... It is amazing how much you can do these days with computers; to really fool the audience into believing in all the spectacular things. Basically since Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park, we've seen completely realistic CGI's in movies. With Lord of the Rings, the technology peaked for a while, and what they did in the moview was simply awesome (aside from a few Legolas shots).
Well, then came the new Star Wars movies. They proved that even with big money your CGI can suck.
The came several other movies.
I am Legend.
With a budget like that you'd expect to get much more than what they had in I am Legend. If there is anything that ruins that movie (a good one too) it's the fake-looking CGI. They don't fit. They don't look real. They don't work the magic they're supposed to.
Well, guess what? Indiana Jones has plenty of that going on. CGI that doesn't seem real.
The storytelling of the movie was quite clumsy. You don't really feel the movie as such: you don't get into it. It feels distant. There is way too much action compared to actual storytelling. You know, kind of like the over-long sword scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. There are life-or-death situations and it seems no one is even worried by it. It's acrobatics. Clever shots without any depth into them.
The plot of the movie is not anything to shout about. It sucks. I mean, the story around the plot is ok, but the plot itself... I mean, who cares about a stupid crystal skull? Especially once you start learning the plot has more to it than supernatural.
From the reviews I learned that there would be some lame references of how the South American Indians were in contact with aliens, and how they helped the Indians to build their cities and temples, and brought them technology.
Well, you can rest assured and curse the gods for Indiana Jones 4 has references to aliens. In fact, it HAS aliens. Aliens and paranormal. Way to go Lucas, thank you!
And to make it worse, the aliens are made in that crappy CGI!! If there is one way to ruin a perfectly good movie series, it is changing everything about it and letting people hope you didn't ruin it too badly. Well, I hoped. No reward. The movie has crappy CGI and aliens. Way to go Lucas, thank you!
I can only imagine how much better the movie would've been if they had just tossed all post-1990 technologies away from movie-making, and concentrated on the plot instead.
In the Making-of documentary of the original movies, Lucas and Spielberg say Temple of Doom was the least good of the three. So my question is, why would you try to repeat Temple of Doom - instead of Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Last Crusade?... And even failing in repeating Temple of Doom.
Well, it's a nice movie still. Just don't fool yourself into thinking it's another Indiana Jones.
National Treasure was better. And it hurts me to say that. It really does.
Thank you Lucas. First you ruined Star Wars, now you ruined Indiana Jones. Luckily that leaves very little for you to ruin anymore.
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Pancake Colours
The happy pills worked, so it seems. I still don't feel 100% ok, but it's close enough for me not to bother the doctor anymore. The pain is gone, and there's nothing more but a slight discomfort left. If anything should go bad again, I'll be quick to go to doctor. As it is, however, the situation has been resolved and no need to discus it further.
In other news, me and my colleague headed for lunch in Causeway Bay. Being a relatively unknown area for both of us in terms of restaurants, we decided to pick something random. So we went to a building where they have plenty of restaurants (in Hong Kong it is common to have a tall building almost full of restaurats and you take a lift where each floor has its designated place(s) to eat). Going through the list of names of restaurants, we decided upon a Korean place.
We never got there.
We took the lift but accidentally got off the wrong floor. The floor held two establishments. One was a cafe, the other was a place called "Pancake Colours". As a joke, we went to the latter. To our surprise the place was actually really nice and the food was good.
I ordered a chicken steak and got something I thought was fish. Anyways, it was good and well worth recommending.
And they have pancakes.
No point to this post. Thanks for reading though.
In other news, me and my colleague headed for lunch in Causeway Bay. Being a relatively unknown area for both of us in terms of restaurants, we decided to pick something random. So we went to a building where they have plenty of restaurants (in Hong Kong it is common to have a tall building almost full of restaurats and you take a lift where each floor has its designated place(s) to eat). Going through the list of names of restaurants, we decided upon a Korean place.
We never got there.
We took the lift but accidentally got off the wrong floor. The floor held two establishments. One was a cafe, the other was a place called "Pancake Colours". As a joke, we went to the latter. To our surprise the place was actually really nice and the food was good.
I ordered a chicken steak and got something I thought was fish. Anyways, it was good and well worth recommending.
And they have pancakes.
No point to this post. Thanks for reading though.
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Not so supercool
I got a damned infection in my ear and it hurts like crap. I've had it for a few days now. It frigging hurts. And I haven't really slept properly for the least few nights since sleeping involves placing your head on a pillow - head, to with the ears are connected, including the ear that hurts like crap. Crap, I tell you!
Now, I don't know why I was bestowed this grand gift of pain, but I sure ain't thankful for it.
Had to go to the doctors too to get some meds for this. The frigging visit cost me HKD 400 (including the meds)! It's not too bad, but it's still money I could've spent on something useful, like 16 BigMac meals. Well, he gave me some happy-pills and ear drops and it should be getting better withing a few days. Taking too damned long though.
I shit you not. Above are the actual pills I got. My antibiotics say "nice" and they are happy and yellow-gray. Super! Also got some painkillers but they just look like normal drugs.
Well, let's see how long it takes for them to really kick in. I wouldn't really like to visit doctors again if the pills don't do the trick. Not because of the money, not because of the trouble - but because I have to wait 3 more days before my medication ends. So, if they don't work - I'll have 3 more days of PAIN ahead of me.
Haha, can't imagine myself, a big man, making such a fuss about a thing like this.
Anyways, life goes on.
Now, I don't know why I was bestowed this grand gift of pain, but I sure ain't thankful for it.
Had to go to the doctors too to get some meds for this. The frigging visit cost me HKD 400 (including the meds)! It's not too bad, but it's still money I could've spent on something useful, like 16 BigMac meals. Well, he gave me some happy-pills and ear drops and it should be getting better withing a few days. Taking too damned long though.
I shit you not. Above are the actual pills I got. My antibiotics say "nice" and they are happy and yellow-gray. Super! Also got some painkillers but they just look like normal drugs.
Well, let's see how long it takes for them to really kick in. I wouldn't really like to visit doctors again if the pills don't do the trick. Not because of the money, not because of the trouble - but because I have to wait 3 more days before my medication ends. So, if they don't work - I'll have 3 more days of PAIN ahead of me.
Haha, can't imagine myself, a big man, making such a fuss about a thing like this.
Anyways, life goes on.
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Supercool
Gloomy Wednesday.
It's a turn for the better, though, since we had a few days of Typhoon-comparable rains and wind. No typhoons here, however, just crappy weather. But it's better now, at least it's calm - albeit gray.
It's funny how you can feel cold, even if it's over 20 degrees out. While living in Finland, that seemed like a ridiculous thing to say.
A friend is coming by for one evening to Hong Kong from Guangzhou so I'm expecting moderate consumption of alcohol in a civilized manner within the safe perimeter of a drinking house. Since tomorrow is a working day, I expect things to go smoothly and without incident.
Nothing more to say today. Except that lately I've been less tired, less pissed-off, and less stressed. And that is a really awesome feeling after a few months of all three of those.
Life is sweet, life is super. If only it was brighter outside.
It's a turn for the better, though, since we had a few days of Typhoon-comparable rains and wind. No typhoons here, however, just crappy weather. But it's better now, at least it's calm - albeit gray.
It's funny how you can feel cold, even if it's over 20 degrees out. While living in Finland, that seemed like a ridiculous thing to say.
A friend is coming by for one evening to Hong Kong from Guangzhou so I'm expecting moderate consumption of alcohol in a civilized manner within the safe perimeter of a drinking house. Since tomorrow is a working day, I expect things to go smoothly and without incident.
Nothing more to say today. Except that lately I've been less tired, less pissed-off, and less stressed. And that is a really awesome feeling after a few months of all three of those.
Life is sweet, life is super. If only it was brighter outside.
Friday, 16 May 2008
Lazydayz...
It's Friday and that means that weekend is just around the corner! Now, I don't take much pride to it but I've become extremely lazy during weekends. Seems I can't be arsed to do anything, really. Well, that is going to change now that I'm having a bit more energy.
See, laziness was direct result of being exhausted by work during week - so any time off I could have, I would really take easy. Well, now luckily things are back to a state that is within limits of acceptable and I can once again start adventuring around Hong Kong! Fun times ahead!
Anyways, weekend's are nice no matter what.
The thing is, living in a place like Hong Kong may sound really fancy to anyone who hasn't done anything similar. However, the basic routines of life are the same everywhere. Of course there are differences between locations but once you get used to one routine, it's the routine you know and follow. So, with routines this place has lost some of its initial charm.
During weekends the routines break a bit and there's time to live. It's really similar to any place, you know, in Finland weekend's are for special things also, whereas weekdays are for work/study. So, you can see my point.
To further the point, in a place like Hong Kong during weekend's it's easy to do a lot of things that refurbish that charm. No matter I've lived in Hong Kong over 2 years, I still find myself amazed by certain things time after time. And of course there are plenty of new things here I haven't even had a brief glimpse of.
That's actually one of the interesting things about Hong Kong, there's so many things packed in this small area that it never seems to cease amaze me. Within a few kilometers you can go from such extremes of wealth, lifestyle, anything.
So, Hong Kong still is kind of a cotton-candy-land for me. There's no denying it.
Actually, I would really enjoy a few weeks of well funded holiday just in Hong Kong - to have the chance to go around in more detail, to see places that take too much time to go to, or are otherwise something I can't - for one reason or another - see at this moment.
Well, let's see what I can come up with during this weekend. Don't have that much money to do anything, unfortunately... made some big investments that hopefully pay off later on. Let's see, let's see.
It's a splendid, sunny day outside with a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. I'm sitting in an office. I need an outdoor job.
See, laziness was direct result of being exhausted by work during week - so any time off I could have, I would really take easy. Well, now luckily things are back to a state that is within limits of acceptable and I can once again start adventuring around Hong Kong! Fun times ahead!
Anyways, weekend's are nice no matter what.
The thing is, living in a place like Hong Kong may sound really fancy to anyone who hasn't done anything similar. However, the basic routines of life are the same everywhere. Of course there are differences between locations but once you get used to one routine, it's the routine you know and follow. So, with routines this place has lost some of its initial charm.
During weekends the routines break a bit and there's time to live. It's really similar to any place, you know, in Finland weekend's are for special things also, whereas weekdays are for work/study. So, you can see my point.
To further the point, in a place like Hong Kong during weekend's it's easy to do a lot of things that refurbish that charm. No matter I've lived in Hong Kong over 2 years, I still find myself amazed by certain things time after time. And of course there are plenty of new things here I haven't even had a brief glimpse of.
That's actually one of the interesting things about Hong Kong, there's so many things packed in this small area that it never seems to cease amaze me. Within a few kilometers you can go from such extremes of wealth, lifestyle, anything.
So, Hong Kong still is kind of a cotton-candy-land for me. There's no denying it.
Actually, I would really enjoy a few weeks of well funded holiday just in Hong Kong - to have the chance to go around in more detail, to see places that take too much time to go to, or are otherwise something I can't - for one reason or another - see at this moment.
Well, let's see what I can come up with during this weekend. Don't have that much money to do anything, unfortunately... made some big investments that hopefully pay off later on. Let's see, let's see.
It's a splendid, sunny day outside with a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. I'm sitting in an office. I need an outdoor job.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
phoínix
It's been a long time, way too long. But like Chuck Norris, this blog doesn't sleep - it waits.
It's been a hectic one month - or actually a few months. I hope that with the summer coming, things will ease up and there will be more time also for other stuff than just work and sleep. Of course I can't blame all on work but it's a definite factor. I've had a bit free time which I've been using to my best ability to either rest, or discover new things in Hong Kong. I must say, the latter has become less and less frequent with rest taking more of the spare time I have - but that's simply because after work I've just been unarseable to do anything.
With that said, let's get back to matters at hand.
As mentioned, summer is heading our way. While I just received word that in Valkeakoski it was -1 degrees Celsius this morning, in Hong Kong we're enjoying 27-30 degrees.
Here's a 7-day forecast from our friends at the Hong Kong Observatory:
So we won't be freezing too badly here, as the poor mucks in Finland. Of course, however, getting the warm weather means a world of pain for me. I'm very, very well adapt for cold weather and winter in Hong Kong was just awesome - but I am one of the least compatible of humans to hot weather. So, it's back to t-shirts and sweating like a Schwein for me. Fun times.
One definite bonus of summer in Hong Kong is the blue sky. Blue sky makes me happy. Blue sky is a sign of a nice day. Blue blue blue. Of course blue sky also means it much hotter because the sun is shining straight on us without the protective cloud/smog defense shield to guard us. But it looks mighty awesome. The thing is, during winter we don't have that many sunny days. The weather may be clear, but there is a shroud of clouds covering us most of the time.
But that's all there is to it at this point. No more jabbering about weather.
Within the last few months so many things have happened that it pains me to leave them out all together. Seems such a silly idea to start telling about events long-gone as if they were something new and amazing. So, how about some current events, eh?
Thank you Schweppes! I just found a bottle of grapefruit soda from a close-by 7eleven and it's delicious! Why so happy, you ask? Well, aside from Coke, Pepsi and some basic soda's like 7-up and such, it's really hard to find additional soda flavors here. Ask about all the funky green tea we have, sure, but a decent soda... *sigh*
Actually, a lot of Western foodstuff is hard to come by in Hong Kong. Surprisingly so, actually. I've started to like cooking again after a while of McDonald's and other crap. However, the age-old problem remains persistent; that is, the western foodstuff.
For example, try finding some cream other than whipped cream. Try finding some proper bread other than toast or Chinese crap buns. It can't be done. The list goes on and on but without a context I can't come up with a longer one just now. However, it seems every time I want to cook something western style, there are at least a few food items missing that force me to improvise to some extent. Of course it's fun to try new things - but sometimes I'd rather try the old things, and have that old-home feeling. Well, sucks.
I'm quickly becoming a master of fusion kitchen - balancing between east and the west.
It's been a hectic one month - or actually a few months. I hope that with the summer coming, things will ease up and there will be more time also for other stuff than just work and sleep. Of course I can't blame all on work but it's a definite factor. I've had a bit free time which I've been using to my best ability to either rest, or discover new things in Hong Kong. I must say, the latter has become less and less frequent with rest taking more of the spare time I have - but that's simply because after work I've just been unarseable to do anything.
With that said, let's get back to matters at hand.
As mentioned, summer is heading our way. While I just received word that in Valkeakoski it was -1 degrees Celsius this morning, in Hong Kong we're enjoying 27-30 degrees.
Here's a 7-day forecast from our friends at the Hong Kong Observatory:
So we won't be freezing too badly here, as the poor mucks in Finland. Of course, however, getting the warm weather means a world of pain for me. I'm very, very well adapt for cold weather and winter in Hong Kong was just awesome - but I am one of the least compatible of humans to hot weather. So, it's back to t-shirts and sweating like a Schwein for me. Fun times.
One definite bonus of summer in Hong Kong is the blue sky. Blue sky makes me happy. Blue sky is a sign of a nice day. Blue blue blue. Of course blue sky also means it much hotter because the sun is shining straight on us without the protective cloud/smog defense shield to guard us. But it looks mighty awesome. The thing is, during winter we don't have that many sunny days. The weather may be clear, but there is a shroud of clouds covering us most of the time.
But that's all there is to it at this point. No more jabbering about weather.
Within the last few months so many things have happened that it pains me to leave them out all together. Seems such a silly idea to start telling about events long-gone as if they were something new and amazing. So, how about some current events, eh?
Thank you Schweppes! I just found a bottle of grapefruit soda from a close-by 7eleven and it's delicious! Why so happy, you ask? Well, aside from Coke, Pepsi and some basic soda's like 7-up and such, it's really hard to find additional soda flavors here. Ask about all the funky green tea we have, sure, but a decent soda... *sigh*
Actually, a lot of Western foodstuff is hard to come by in Hong Kong. Surprisingly so, actually. I've started to like cooking again after a while of McDonald's and other crap. However, the age-old problem remains persistent; that is, the western foodstuff.
For example, try finding some cream other than whipped cream. Try finding some proper bread other than toast or Chinese crap buns. It can't be done. The list goes on and on but without a context I can't come up with a longer one just now. However, it seems every time I want to cook something western style, there are at least a few food items missing that force me to improvise to some extent. Of course it's fun to try new things - but sometimes I'd rather try the old things, and have that old-home feeling. Well, sucks.
I'm quickly becoming a master of fusion kitchen - balancing between east and the west.
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Manbearpig
Half man, half bear, half pig. Well, not really. But UK scientists have managed to create Britain's first part-human, part-animal embryos - creating a human-cow hybrid. Of course it operates only on small cellular level, so we won't be having man-cows around any time soon. Interestingly enough, however, between the lines it was easy to read that this is not ground-breaking research but has actually been done by US and Chinese scientists before some time ago.
To me this was news. I didn't know we can do this already. Albeit, there are many things I didn't know we can do. Seems science has stepped way further beyond the threshold of fiction than I thought. Well, I suppose it'll lead to scientific discoveries and we'll all live a very, very long and happy lives thanks to it.
Unless man-cow kills us all!
So, 'will it blend?' is not really the question anymore. Now we should be asking'Should we blend it?' but that is a totally different question and I won't even go into the ethics behind genetics and all things involved. Those are questions too big for us small mortals. Let the immortals decide!
To me this was news. I didn't know we can do this already. Albeit, there are many things I didn't know we can do. Seems science has stepped way further beyond the threshold of fiction than I thought. Well, I suppose it'll lead to scientific discoveries and we'll all live a very, very long and happy lives thanks to it.
Unless man-cow kills us all!
So, 'will it blend?' is not really the question anymore. Now we should be asking'Should we blend it?' but that is a totally different question and I won't even go into the ethics behind genetics and all things involved. Those are questions too big for us small mortals. Let the immortals decide!
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
Lingua Franca
There are a few obvious good things the British brought to Hong Kong. One is the western sense into things (though can be argued) and the other is their language. Though the locals commonly use Cantonese for their own affairs, English is very common even among lower educated people (38% of people in Hong Kong, according to Wikipedia, apt speakers). Even those who can't really speak the language, usually learn what is necessary for their profession (taxi, restaurants, etc.)
Having so many english-capable people around of course makes life a lot easier here. I don't really need to worry about a thing, in terms of language barriers - and especially with Chi around, language hasn't been a problem for the last 10 months or so.
Of course, it makes it much more challenging to learn the de facto language of the locals: Cantonese.
I haven't given up my relentless quest to learn the language. But it's slow. It's so damned slow. I suppose I should go to a proper course and have a weekly schedule for learning. Can't be arsed though. But I'm still learning.
Not being forced to use the language daily is a problem. Almost in any country you would at least have to face the language more often. Of course I hear it all the time but since it's not directed towards me, it's easily ignored. And since I look like gweilo, the locals automatically switch into english when talking with me.
Sometimes after purchasing something or paying for a bill, I say "thank you" (something like "mgoy") in Cantonese, and even from that I receive surprised glances and even smiles, or giggle - as if I've done something totally remarkable! "HOLY CRAP! The gweilo speaks our language!"
Chi is a good teacher, I'm a crappy student. Yet, I'm making slow progress with each week.
I am learning small things all the time and with time they're bound to sum up to something. However, I don't expect myself to be at all capable of speaking Cantonese until a year or two from now. The progress is simply too slow for anything sooner.
I'm more aware of the tones and other finer things concerning the language but they still pose me a serious problem. It's not once or twice that I've repeated the same word (or so I thought) to Chi, and she saying I got it right half the time, other half was wrong. I just don't understand how the people can hear any difference in the tones --- I mean something that would be so significant as to be a totally different word.
It's all kung-fu-talk. Damn it all! One day I'll be the master of it!
And then I can be an actor in kung-fu movies and kick ass! That'll be cool! With great language-skills comes great responsibility.
Having so many english-capable people around of course makes life a lot easier here. I don't really need to worry about a thing, in terms of language barriers - and especially with Chi around, language hasn't been a problem for the last 10 months or so.
Of course, it makes it much more challenging to learn the de facto language of the locals: Cantonese.
I haven't given up my relentless quest to learn the language. But it's slow. It's so damned slow. I suppose I should go to a proper course and have a weekly schedule for learning. Can't be arsed though. But I'm still learning.
Not being forced to use the language daily is a problem. Almost in any country you would at least have to face the language more often. Of course I hear it all the time but since it's not directed towards me, it's easily ignored. And since I look like gweilo, the locals automatically switch into english when talking with me.
Sometimes after purchasing something or paying for a bill, I say "thank you" (something like "mgoy") in Cantonese, and even from that I receive surprised glances and even smiles, or giggle - as if I've done something totally remarkable! "HOLY CRAP! The gweilo speaks our language!"
Chi is a good teacher, I'm a crappy student. Yet, I'm making slow progress with each week.
I am learning small things all the time and with time they're bound to sum up to something. However, I don't expect myself to be at all capable of speaking Cantonese until a year or two from now. The progress is simply too slow for anything sooner.
I'm more aware of the tones and other finer things concerning the language but they still pose me a serious problem. It's not once or twice that I've repeated the same word (or so I thought) to Chi, and she saying I got it right half the time, other half was wrong. I just don't understand how the people can hear any difference in the tones --- I mean something that would be so significant as to be a totally different word.
It's all kung-fu-talk. Damn it all! One day I'll be the master of it!
And then I can be an actor in kung-fu movies and kick ass! That'll be cool! With great language-skills comes great responsibility.
Friday, 28 March 2008
Daily routines
Daily routines exist no more. The only routine I have is Chi getting off at 21:00 and coming to Tung Chung at around 22:00. Everything before that is a hassle. I really, really need to get some more routines to my life - this is very much draining on my mental well-being. The way things are, I'm usually so tired by weekend, that I don't go out at all. In fact, it's been a really long time since I properly went out with friends.
So, what's the cause of all this?
You guessed it. Work. Plenty of work.
It seems things are easing up now, and I hope to see some significant changes up ahead, but lately our office has been like Santa's workshop on December 23rd. I don't know what has happened to create this situation, but it's definitely there. I remember this time last year I was stressed out for NOT having enough work to do. Funny enough, back then I thought it's much worse that having too much, making a silly claim about how I'm being just a burden to the company and how it's not right others are busy and I'm not. Well, I was wrong. Being totally overwhelmed by work sucks more. Period.
So, anyways... Even my week is full of busy days at work, I will try to change my routines for the weekends. With my parents here, I realized how much more stuff I could do during my free time if I just got up early and went out. These days I've just been sleeping late and staying indoors.
Need to sleep more though too... Hmmh, it's a bit of a problem actually. Need to sleep more, but need to wake up early. And then, Chi gets off so late I kind of have to stay up late... and... I don't know. Need to come up with something.
So, what's the cause of all this?
You guessed it. Work. Plenty of work.
It seems things are easing up now, and I hope to see some significant changes up ahead, but lately our office has been like Santa's workshop on December 23rd. I don't know what has happened to create this situation, but it's definitely there. I remember this time last year I was stressed out for NOT having enough work to do. Funny enough, back then I thought it's much worse that having too much, making a silly claim about how I'm being just a burden to the company and how it's not right others are busy and I'm not. Well, I was wrong. Being totally overwhelmed by work sucks more. Period.
So, anyways... Even my week is full of busy days at work, I will try to change my routines for the weekends. With my parents here, I realized how much more stuff I could do during my free time if I just got up early and went out. These days I've just been sleeping late and staying indoors.
Need to sleep more though too... Hmmh, it's a bit of a problem actually. Need to sleep more, but need to wake up early. And then, Chi gets off so late I kind of have to stay up late... and... I don't know. Need to come up with something.
Saturday, 22 March 2008
updates
It's been a long, long while since my last post. A bit too long, actually. When I started my blog I had in mind to keep posting as often as possible because if I don't, it doesn't make much sense to have a blog at all. It is kind of like a diary, I suppose, so what's the point of having one if it's not up-to-date.
Anyways, obviously a lot of things have happenned, much which now seem a bit trivial to write about. The main thing that happenned, probably, was my parents visiting here a few weeks back - which was really great! I had asked to have several days off from work to be able to spend more time with my parents as a tour guide and obviously just for spending time with them.
The first few days, for me, were a bit awkward as such because I didn't really know what to do with them and how to go about showing Hong Kong in a way that would be interesting for them. You know, so far I've only had younger people visiting so they pretty much have liked the same things as I... but my parents, well, I needed a different approach. Everything went really well in the end, however, and there'd be many stories to tell but I just can't be arsed right now. It's old news.
One thing, however, I need to mention. Of all the places we went to, one really stuck out of the mass and that was Tai O. Tai O is a small fishing village in West Lantau Island and has really saved a lot of its authentic feeling. The people still try to retain their old way of life, even with the occational tourists flocking in, and the place has just an awesome feeling to it - compared to the overly-modern Hong Kong most people know. I've put some pictures of Tai O for you to see at the bottom of this post. I think they speak for themselves. The place will definitely be on the menu for anyone ever coming to visit me here again.
It's been a few weeks since my parents headed back to Finland and since then things have gone back to normal. With my parents here, it was two weeks of walking, walking, walking, walking and walking a bit more. They were always going somewhere and everyday there was to be some program. I don't know how much I walked totally during their stay, but it was a LOT. Now, however, I've been able to skip that tedious form of moving.
Hmmh, I thought there'd be more to write down, but honestly not much has been going on since. It's all pretty much routines, I suppose, that have once or more been already discussed in this blog of mine.
There was a fire at the mountain next to my apartment. I took a few photos (below) of the firemen at work. Nothing much of interest but well.. since nothing else has happenned... Ha. Well, anyways.
I suppose I'll just stop typing now. Next time I try to have something more purposeful to write. Tchau!
TAI O,Lantau Island, Hong Kong
FIRE!,Tung Chung, Hong Kong
Anyways, obviously a lot of things have happenned, much which now seem a bit trivial to write about. The main thing that happenned, probably, was my parents visiting here a few weeks back - which was really great! I had asked to have several days off from work to be able to spend more time with my parents as a tour guide and obviously just for spending time with them.
The first few days, for me, were a bit awkward as such because I didn't really know what to do with them and how to go about showing Hong Kong in a way that would be interesting for them. You know, so far I've only had younger people visiting so they pretty much have liked the same things as I... but my parents, well, I needed a different approach. Everything went really well in the end, however, and there'd be many stories to tell but I just can't be arsed right now. It's old news.
One thing, however, I need to mention. Of all the places we went to, one really stuck out of the mass and that was Tai O. Tai O is a small fishing village in West Lantau Island and has really saved a lot of its authentic feeling. The people still try to retain their old way of life, even with the occational tourists flocking in, and the place has just an awesome feeling to it - compared to the overly-modern Hong Kong most people know. I've put some pictures of Tai O for you to see at the bottom of this post. I think they speak for themselves. The place will definitely be on the menu for anyone ever coming to visit me here again.
It's been a few weeks since my parents headed back to Finland and since then things have gone back to normal. With my parents here, it was two weeks of walking, walking, walking, walking and walking a bit more. They were always going somewhere and everyday there was to be some program. I don't know how much I walked totally during their stay, but it was a LOT. Now, however, I've been able to skip that tedious form of moving.
Hmmh, I thought there'd be more to write down, but honestly not much has been going on since. It's all pretty much routines, I suppose, that have once or more been already discussed in this blog of mine.
There was a fire at the mountain next to my apartment. I took a few photos (below) of the firemen at work. Nothing much of interest but well.. since nothing else has happenned... Ha. Well, anyways.
I suppose I'll just stop typing now. Next time I try to have something more purposeful to write. Tchau!
TAI O,Lantau Island, Hong Kong
FIRE!,Tung Chung, Hong Kong
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Tourists
Tourists in Hong Kong, my parents. It'll be interesting having them here. It's been over half a year since I saw them, so it's also a welcome piece of home to see them. They will, in fact, arrive already tomorrow morning so I'll be quite busy as a tourist guide from now on. I asked to have some extra days off from work during their stay just to have more time to play a guide.
Also, for Chi this is interesting times, to meet my parents. She's having some mixed feelings about it, actually. Basically she is of course happy and interested to meet my parents - but it's also a bit terrifying experience for her to meet Gweilo-parents for the first time, not really knowing what to expect. The norms she knows from Hong Kong won't apply. I have, of course, tried to calm her down and told plenty of the way Finnish families function (or dysfunction), and that she has nothing to worry about. Well, we'll see tomorrow once the first introductions are made.
Talking about family meetings, I've also had the privilege to meet Chi's parents (and family) on several occasions now.
Last time was for the family Chinese New Year dinner. Present were most of Chi's family from her father's side, a total of 50+ people. All locals. No Gweilos, except me.
I was received very well, and as far as I've understood I'm now the "jolly Gweilo who speaks 'really good Cantonese' (thanks to my vocabulary of 20 words)." The dinner was very traditional in Hong Kong style. We had our own big room in a nice restaurant, and we were divided into several round tables of 10-12 people. Food (I think 6 sets) was served on a steady pace and no one left hungry.
Talking about the culture here, and how I perceive is starting be a bit repetitive topic, so I won't go into further details anymore. Let's just say, that family life and all that go around it here is very interesting - and like so many things about Hong Kong - complete opposite to that of Finland.
Of course everyone's experiences vary. Hong Kong is such a strong mixture of different sub-cultures and variations as to how closely traditions and values are followed. So, I can't say my experience would be anything universal - but just what I see as I've been taking part in the local family life.
During the dinner, I was received very well and no one seemed at all offended by a Gweilo taking part in their traditional celebration. In fact, seems I was more of a peculiarity (in a positive way), everyone surprised to see me there. Chi and her parents got some "face" (i.e. 'respect', 'personal honor') for having a foreigner boyfriend - something that is not common among the "normal people" of Hong Kong - and being able to speak such good English to actually talk with me actively. In local culture, even the strangest things can be thought of as a merit to a family. Never thought I'd be one of those things, a prize. Hah.
I received several laizhi's (red pockets; a small red envelope containing some small amount of money) as it is tradition, and actually even as the new guy, I totaled in around HKD 400.
The laizhi-tradition is (I don't know where it originates) a strongly established cultural feature of Chinese based cultures. During Chinese New Year, married couples give laizhi's to their children and to their unmarried friends and family. Individual red pocket usually contains only sums of 10 or 20 dollars (and 50 or 100 for closer family) but receiving them by the dozens will make it a nifty sum in total.
Anyways, I suppose I can close this post for now and continue later on, if need be. Life is sweet and changes lie ahead. Worries and high hopes. Let's see how it all goes. More to come, stay tuned.
Tchau!
Also, for Chi this is interesting times, to meet my parents. She's having some mixed feelings about it, actually. Basically she is of course happy and interested to meet my parents - but it's also a bit terrifying experience for her to meet Gweilo-parents for the first time, not really knowing what to expect. The norms she knows from Hong Kong won't apply. I have, of course, tried to calm her down and told plenty of the way Finnish families function (or dysfunction), and that she has nothing to worry about. Well, we'll see tomorrow once the first introductions are made.
Talking about family meetings, I've also had the privilege to meet Chi's parents (and family) on several occasions now.
Last time was for the family Chinese New Year dinner. Present were most of Chi's family from her father's side, a total of 50+ people. All locals. No Gweilos, except me.
I was received very well, and as far as I've understood I'm now the "jolly Gweilo who speaks 'really good Cantonese' (thanks to my vocabulary of 20 words)." The dinner was very traditional in Hong Kong style. We had our own big room in a nice restaurant, and we were divided into several round tables of 10-12 people. Food (I think 6 sets) was served on a steady pace and no one left hungry.
Talking about the culture here, and how I perceive is starting be a bit repetitive topic, so I won't go into further details anymore. Let's just say, that family life and all that go around it here is very interesting - and like so many things about Hong Kong - complete opposite to that of Finland.
Of course everyone's experiences vary. Hong Kong is such a strong mixture of different sub-cultures and variations as to how closely traditions and values are followed. So, I can't say my experience would be anything universal - but just what I see as I've been taking part in the local family life.
During the dinner, I was received very well and no one seemed at all offended by a Gweilo taking part in their traditional celebration. In fact, seems I was more of a peculiarity (in a positive way), everyone surprised to see me there. Chi and her parents got some "face" (i.e. 'respect', 'personal honor') for having a foreigner boyfriend - something that is not common among the "normal people" of Hong Kong - and being able to speak such good English to actually talk with me actively. In local culture, even the strangest things can be thought of as a merit to a family. Never thought I'd be one of those things, a prize. Hah.
I received several laizhi's (red pockets; a small red envelope containing some small amount of money) as it is tradition, and actually even as the new guy, I totaled in around HKD 400.
The laizhi-tradition is (I don't know where it originates) a strongly established cultural feature of Chinese based cultures. During Chinese New Year, married couples give laizhi's to their children and to their unmarried friends and family. Individual red pocket usually contains only sums of 10 or 20 dollars (and 50 or 100 for closer family) but receiving them by the dozens will make it a nifty sum in total.
Anyways, I suppose I can close this post for now and continue later on, if need be. Life is sweet and changes lie ahead. Worries and high hopes. Let's see how it all goes. More to come, stay tuned.
Tchau!
Thursday, 14 February 2008
proof of life
I've been rather busy lately, and will be for the coming few weeks. And for that reason, I have been neglecting my grave responsibility to write stuff here occasionally.
So, why have I been busy? Mostly work, and after work I don't usually like writing much. Maybe I should take that (writing my blog from home) into a habit, seeing these days it is quite impossible to do it other anyway.
Interesting times in Hong Kong, many things worth mentioning. However, since I'm lacking time yet again, I will leave those stories for another time (hopefully soon).
Basically I just wanted it to be known that this blog has not yet died, but is just catching some breath.
Until a later time, tchau!
So, why have I been busy? Mostly work, and after work I don't usually like writing much. Maybe I should take that (writing my blog from home) into a habit, seeing these days it is quite impossible to do it other anyway.
Interesting times in Hong Kong, many things worth mentioning. However, since I'm lacking time yet again, I will leave those stories for another time (hopefully soon).
Basically I just wanted it to be known that this blog has not yet died, but is just catching some breath.
Until a later time, tchau!
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
xplosions!
Nothing much to report I suppose. It's been colder and colder and I actually have had my radiators on full power a few nights just to keep the temperature indoors tolerable. I still am amazed at how crappy the local construction work is.
I met more of Chi's family last Saturday. A kind of an out-of-the-blue situation when we were suddenly invited to a dinner. Not knowing what it was about, I casually agreed to go. Well, already on ferry to Tuen Mun I was told four of her aunties, their husbands, Chi's mom and grandmom, her younger sister and some other people close to the family are coming too. All went well, I'm glad to say. Seems I'm rather easily accepted by her family eventhough a gweilo is must be quite an oddity to them.
Understand they are really, really common people of Hong Kong and used only to dealing with locals. It's kind of like someone in Akaa dating an asian. It's not completely unheard of, but it definitely isn't common. Of course Hong Kong has many interracial couples, but usually it's between "better" people of Hong Kong.
So, what happenned isn't that spectacular, strange, or even interesting. We had dinner with the bunch of them, and it was fun. What makes it spectacular, strange and interesting for me is of course the chance to yet again dive deeper into the local way of life. What I have been observing from afar I now have a small part. Like almost everything about the local way of life so far, I have not been running into strange cultural barriers nor offended anyones traditions - just a bit of common sense and all is fine. Who needs those books about Chinese culture, really? Sure they give some insight what goes inside the head of some traditionally oriented people, but seems at least in Hong Kong all that gibberish has not really been of any true value.
Chinese(/Hong Kongese) do some things differently. Accept that. Prepare for that. Use common sense. And you're fine. Mostly it's just people dealing with other people and the universal rules apply.
That's all about that for now.
Oh, and a free household tip to all those unexperienced in the ways of living alone. And those not living alone, but still doing stuff themselves.
Do not put liquids in sealed containers to a freezer. In this case, don't put a can of coke to a freezer in hopes of making it cold faster and then forgetting it there over night, and realizing the mistake only 26 hours later. I did that. It wasn't such a awesome experience as it might sound.
So a short story even shorter. The can exploded before all of the contents was frozen so it was all around the freezer compartment. Fun. Well, that's nothing new but I just took a picture of the blown up can, and thought it's funny enough to post here. So here we go:
And here a more artistic view of the final situation. Ah, the spendor of life:
Aside from a can of coke blowing up in my freezer and the other things mentioned above, nothing much has happened. So there you have it. I'm off. Tchau!
I met more of Chi's family last Saturday. A kind of an out-of-the-blue situation when we were suddenly invited to a dinner. Not knowing what it was about, I casually agreed to go. Well, already on ferry to Tuen Mun I was told four of her aunties, their husbands, Chi's mom and grandmom, her younger sister and some other people close to the family are coming too. All went well, I'm glad to say. Seems I'm rather easily accepted by her family eventhough a gweilo is must be quite an oddity to them.
Understand they are really, really common people of Hong Kong and used only to dealing with locals. It's kind of like someone in Akaa dating an asian. It's not completely unheard of, but it definitely isn't common. Of course Hong Kong has many interracial couples, but usually it's between "better" people of Hong Kong.
So, what happenned isn't that spectacular, strange, or even interesting. We had dinner with the bunch of them, and it was fun. What makes it spectacular, strange and interesting for me is of course the chance to yet again dive deeper into the local way of life. What I have been observing from afar I now have a small part. Like almost everything about the local way of life so far, I have not been running into strange cultural barriers nor offended anyones traditions - just a bit of common sense and all is fine. Who needs those books about Chinese culture, really? Sure they give some insight what goes inside the head of some traditionally oriented people, but seems at least in Hong Kong all that gibberish has not really been of any true value.
Chinese(/Hong Kongese) do some things differently. Accept that. Prepare for that. Use common sense. And you're fine. Mostly it's just people dealing with other people and the universal rules apply.
That's all about that for now.
Oh, and a free household tip to all those unexperienced in the ways of living alone. And those not living alone, but still doing stuff themselves.
Do not put liquids in sealed containers to a freezer. In this case, don't put a can of coke to a freezer in hopes of making it cold faster and then forgetting it there over night, and realizing the mistake only 26 hours later. I did that. It wasn't such a awesome experience as it might sound.
So a short story even shorter. The can exploded before all of the contents was frozen so it was all around the freezer compartment. Fun. Well, that's nothing new but I just took a picture of the blown up can, and thought it's funny enough to post here. So here we go:
And here a more artistic view of the final situation. Ah, the spendor of life:
Aside from a can of coke blowing up in my freezer and the other things mentioned above, nothing much has happened. So there you have it. I'm off. Tchau!
Monday, 21 January 2008
1st Anniversary in Hong Kong
So it's come to this.
It's January 21st, exactly one year later since my original exodus to Hong Kong.
Kind of mixed feelings for that. On one hand it feels the time has passed really quick and everything is going smoothly - on the other, looking back at 2007, feels it was a really long, long year. I dunno. I suppose it's always like that when you really start thinking about it.
Anyway, one year is something to make note of.
Other than that. I don't really have anything to write about. I'm really damned hungry right now, and I want to have one beer for celebration. Hence, after 30 minutes I'll head out to the closest McDonalds, eat a burger and then go to the closest drinking hole for that beer. Then I'll go home and iron some shirts.
Life is superb.
It's January 21st, exactly one year later since my original exodus to Hong Kong.
Kind of mixed feelings for that. On one hand it feels the time has passed really quick and everything is going smoothly - on the other, looking back at 2007, feels it was a really long, long year. I dunno. I suppose it's always like that when you really start thinking about it.
Anyway, one year is something to make note of.
Other than that. I don't really have anything to write about. I'm really damned hungry right now, and I want to have one beer for celebration. Hence, after 30 minutes I'll head out to the closest McDonalds, eat a burger and then go to the closest drinking hole for that beer. Then I'll go home and iron some shirts.
Life is superb.
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
Playstation 3 vs. my DVD-player
So, I got myself a PS3 -- or my brother got himself a PS3, bought it in Hong Kong for me to ship it to Finland to save a little money. Anyway, this all means that I have it around to play a bit since of course I didn't send it to Finland right away.
So, what can I say about PS3? Seems, I actually haven't played much with it. My brother bought one game to it, "Bladestorm", which, though probably an awesome game, is not my cup of tea. So, I'm lacking games to the console and it's mostly now a decorative item in my apartment.
From what I played, I could see it's a bit better than PS2, which of course is an improvement, but I still don't find the controls on a PS very comfortable. I'm a Mouse/keyboard-man myself.
The console main interface is very similar to that of PSP, so at least that part is quite familiar. Other than that, it's just another console to me.
What is great about it though, and to me the far best feature, is that it has HDMI-out for video. Which means that with my HDMI-ready 42" plasma TV I can watch movies with awesomenestest quality! No 5.1 sound though since I lack proper cables to connect the PS3 to my amplifier, but at least the picture is awesome!
I've been planning on buying a new dvd-player with HDMI, but I might actually buy a PS3 instead since the price isn't that different here in Hong Kong -- and so I would get the high quality picture AND I could play games too. Not that I play games that much. Maybe EDF2. Lol.
So, to summarize my PS3 experience. Not much different to PS2 but better video quality for watching movies. Awesome.
Another PS related story. You remember Onimusha? The PS2 game I was playing; the game kind of like Kingdom Hears but in medieval Japan? Well, I saw "Onimusha the movie" at a local DVD-store. A classic example of a situation where I should have waited a bit and check the internet for information -- but, I bough it. I remembered the game has some great cinematic parts to it, and thought a movie with that stuff could be quite awesome. Well, it wasn't. I should have known the Japanese were up to something!
So, what was the movie?.. It was two hour compilation of all the in-game plot animations (not those cool rendered animations but the actual game ones, which you could see when playing the game) and a girl's voice narrating the story. The cinematic parts where there too but mostly it was just mediocre picture quality with awkward movements (acting) and complicated plot being explained in ultra-fast speed.
I watched the whole damned thing and regretted every minute of it. But seeing it was weekend then, I didn't have anything better to do.
I can't believe that I spent the price of a normal movie on that. I could've bought some lame-ass animation from Pixar for the same money.
So, what can I say about PS3? Seems, I actually haven't played much with it. My brother bought one game to it, "Bladestorm", which, though probably an awesome game, is not my cup of tea. So, I'm lacking games to the console and it's mostly now a decorative item in my apartment.
From what I played, I could see it's a bit better than PS2, which of course is an improvement, but I still don't find the controls on a PS very comfortable. I'm a Mouse/keyboard-man myself.
The console main interface is very similar to that of PSP, so at least that part is quite familiar. Other than that, it's just another console to me.
What is great about it though, and to me the far best feature, is that it has HDMI-out for video. Which means that with my HDMI-ready 42" plasma TV I can watch movies with awesomenestest quality! No 5.1 sound though since I lack proper cables to connect the PS3 to my amplifier, but at least the picture is awesome!
I've been planning on buying a new dvd-player with HDMI, but I might actually buy a PS3 instead since the price isn't that different here in Hong Kong -- and so I would get the high quality picture AND I could play games too. Not that I play games that much. Maybe EDF2. Lol.
So, to summarize my PS3 experience. Not much different to PS2 but better video quality for watching movies. Awesome.
Another PS related story. You remember Onimusha? The PS2 game I was playing; the game kind of like Kingdom Hears but in medieval Japan? Well, I saw "Onimusha the movie" at a local DVD-store. A classic example of a situation where I should have waited a bit and check the internet for information -- but, I bough it. I remembered the game has some great cinematic parts to it, and thought a movie with that stuff could be quite awesome. Well, it wasn't. I should have known the Japanese were up to something!
So, what was the movie?.. It was two hour compilation of all the in-game plot animations (not those cool rendered animations but the actual game ones, which you could see when playing the game) and a girl's voice narrating the story. The cinematic parts where there too but mostly it was just mediocre picture quality with awkward movements (acting) and complicated plot being explained in ultra-fast speed.
I watched the whole damned thing and regretted every minute of it. But seeing it was weekend then, I didn't have anything better to do.
I can't believe that I spent the price of a normal movie on that. I could've bought some lame-ass animation from Pixar for the same money.
"An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, with the intention of baiting other users into an emotional response." - Wikipedia, 'Definition of an internet troll'
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Bird's Nest
Funky food experiences in Hong Kong resume! I had a mango drink on Saturday while walking in Causeway Bay. Mango is one of my favorite tastes and I never refuse mango. This time, however, it wasn't just mango in my drink. There was an old Chinese add-on in the drink: Bird's nest.
The name "bird's nest" as a spice sounded a bit weird to me, but I just thought it's one of those Chinese things.
The drink was ok. And I was told that bird's nest has numerous health benefits like aiding digestion, raising libido, improving the voice, alleviating asthma, increasing concentration, and an overall benefit to the immune system. Not too bad.
Well, what is bird's nest, then?
I took a piece of paper from the shop explaining numerous details about bird's nest - it failing to mention what it actually is. Well, seeing I got no help from there, I turned to the help of my trusty friend Wikipedia.
Animal products, eh? Ok.
Wonderful. So, my mango drink was mixed with expensive bird spit. I'm glad I didn't know this beforehand - albeit had I known, I wouldn't have had the drink in the first place. It's a good thing Chi recommended me this one. Ha. Well, that's how life is here. Always new things. Never thought they'd make food of bird saliva though. Everything else I could've pretty much imagined.
Wikipedia on Bird's Nest Soup
So, that's one more thing for the menu.
Intestines, skin, bones, funky sea-creatures, saliva.
Only thing left untested is insects. I'm glad they're not big of a fad nor a tradition.
On other food-related things. Saturday was also the first time I went to IKEA's "restaurant" where they also have a small food's shop. To my sheer amazement and joy, they had Estrella potato Chips, DAIM chocolate, Hyvää Makumaasta bags of candy and all sorts of familiar sweets and foodstuff. I almost went bananas there. If only I wasn't on a diet of "If you don't need to eat it, don't eat it". So I only bought one bag of chips for Chi to try. She liked.
The name "bird's nest" as a spice sounded a bit weird to me, but I just thought it's one of those Chinese things.
The drink was ok. And I was told that bird's nest has numerous health benefits like aiding digestion, raising libido, improving the voice, alleviating asthma, increasing concentration, and an overall benefit to the immune system. Not too bad.
Well, what is bird's nest, then?
I took a piece of paper from the shop explaining numerous details about bird's nest - it failing to mention what it actually is. Well, seeing I got no help from there, I turned to the help of my trusty friend Wikipedia.
"The edible bird's nests are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. The nests have been traditionally used in China for over 400 years, most often as bird's nest soup."
Animal products, eh? Ok.
"Bird's nest soup is a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. A few species of swift, the cave swifts, are renowned for building the saliva nests used to produce the unique texture of this soup."
Wonderful. So, my mango drink was mixed with expensive bird spit. I'm glad I didn't know this beforehand - albeit had I known, I wouldn't have had the drink in the first place. It's a good thing Chi recommended me this one. Ha. Well, that's how life is here. Always new things. Never thought they'd make food of bird saliva though. Everything else I could've pretty much imagined.
Wikipedia on Bird's Nest Soup
So, that's one more thing for the menu.
Intestines, skin, bones, funky sea-creatures, saliva.
Only thing left untested is insects. I'm glad they're not big of a fad nor a tradition.
On other food-related things. Saturday was also the first time I went to IKEA's "restaurant" where they also have a small food's shop. To my sheer amazement and joy, they had Estrella potato Chips, DAIM chocolate, Hyvää Makumaasta bags of candy and all sorts of familiar sweets and foodstuff. I almost went bananas there. If only I wasn't on a diet of "If you don't need to eat it, don't eat it". So I only bought one bag of chips for Chi to try. She liked.
Thursday, 10 January 2008
101th Post Celebration
I just realized last post was the 100th in my blog. Hurray for triviality. This makes today's post the 101st. If most of my writing wasn't utter crap, this could be now made into a book. A book by the name "Scribbles of a Scribbling Scribbler - First full year in Hong Kong". Or something.
Nothing much going on here.
Except I've been getting to know Chi's family lately. Last week Friday we went to dinner with her mom, yesterday with her sister. Honestly, I was terrified at meeting her mom at first, but it was quite ok in the end. I lived to tell the tale. In fact, I am now invited to take part in the family's Chinese New Year celebration --- which means I will meet the whole family from both sides and until most distant cousin and auntie possible. Scary, yet bound to be funny.
I mean, as far as I know, no one in Chi's family really speaks English (or Finnish) except a for a few special cases. So, I'll mostly be relying on Chi to translate everything, and she will definitely have a lot of work on that. As I gather, I am the first gweilo ever to join this celebration. No gweilo-boyfriends before.
Oh, yesterday's dinner was hotpot. Hotpot is a nice concept for dinner and comes with a lot of stuff to eat. Basically what you have is a round table with a kettle in the middle. The kettle is set to boil, with a soup base. Then you're brought whatever you order; usually different kinds of meat, seafood, and vegetables (so the whole bunch) and they key is they're brought in raw. Your job is then to, at your own pace, to throw in the foodstuff and cook them yourself. This will allow you to eat as fast as you want, and converse with your friends and party while at it. It's a really nice social event.
But what food is ordered is another story. Usually I prefer beef, sausages, some vegetables and a small selection of seafood (fish/octopus balls mainly). Of course what I prefer is totally different from whatever the other prefer. Last night's specialties included cows stomach (though I wasn't told from which of the four compartments) that wasn't too bad, and pork intestines that I didn't even dare trying. There was a number of other stuff I wasn't sure what it was since it was minced into balls of random colors and tastes - but those I could eat without complaining.
The bottom line is, with Cantonese foods, that if you can ignore what you're eating, you can eat pretty much anything. Generally the taste isn't too bad - though of course there are stuff that would be better left uncooked, uneaten, and just generally thrown away at earliest possible stage.
Anyway, I don't have much else to write about - and I still go work to do. That said, I will stop now. More to come later.
Nothing much going on here.
Except I've been getting to know Chi's family lately. Last week Friday we went to dinner with her mom, yesterday with her sister. Honestly, I was terrified at meeting her mom at first, but it was quite ok in the end. I lived to tell the tale. In fact, I am now invited to take part in the family's Chinese New Year celebration --- which means I will meet the whole family from both sides and until most distant cousin and auntie possible. Scary, yet bound to be funny.
I mean, as far as I know, no one in Chi's family really speaks English (or Finnish) except a for a few special cases. So, I'll mostly be relying on Chi to translate everything, and she will definitely have a lot of work on that. As I gather, I am the first gweilo ever to join this celebration. No gweilo-boyfriends before.
Oh, yesterday's dinner was hotpot. Hotpot is a nice concept for dinner and comes with a lot of stuff to eat. Basically what you have is a round table with a kettle in the middle. The kettle is set to boil, with a soup base. Then you're brought whatever you order; usually different kinds of meat, seafood, and vegetables (so the whole bunch) and they key is they're brought in raw. Your job is then to, at your own pace, to throw in the foodstuff and cook them yourself. This will allow you to eat as fast as you want, and converse with your friends and party while at it. It's a really nice social event.
But what food is ordered is another story. Usually I prefer beef, sausages, some vegetables and a small selection of seafood (fish/octopus balls mainly). Of course what I prefer is totally different from whatever the other prefer. Last night's specialties included cows stomach (though I wasn't told from which of the four compartments) that wasn't too bad, and pork intestines that I didn't even dare trying. There was a number of other stuff I wasn't sure what it was since it was minced into balls of random colors and tastes - but those I could eat without complaining.
The bottom line is, with Cantonese foods, that if you can ignore what you're eating, you can eat pretty much anything. Generally the taste isn't too bad - though of course there are stuff that would be better left uncooked, uneaten, and just generally thrown away at earliest possible stage.
Anyway, I don't have much else to write about - and I still go work to do. That said, I will stop now. More to come later.
Monday, 7 January 2008
Alien Socket vs. Predator Radiator
This morning I woke up, tired, and the first though in my head was "thank god it's almost weekend....." Then the harsh reality of an unrested weekend comes to play. It's Monday, not weekend. Damn it all.
I have a few updates to make.
After my last post I was still too lazy and tired and I didn't buy the stupid radiator. I did one day later. I actually bought two; one bigger oil-filled and the other a small fan heater. Now my bedroom is nice and warm and sleep is better. Unfortunately, however, I have very little use for the small heater because the stupid apartments in here don't come with a power socket in the bathroom. I wanted to use the small one for bathroom so it wouldn't be so damned cold in there - the small fan is even 'bathroom compatible' and can take in moisture and water without electrocuting people or blowing up - but the damned bathroom lacks a socket. I mean, what the hell?
Want to shave using an electric shaver? Better do it elsewhere.
Want to dry your hair with a fan? Do it elsewhere.
Want to do carpentry using an electric chainsaw? No can do!
What is the point? Oh, sure, this way no one gets electrocuted but wouldn't that just be normal evolution? Darwinism at its best? If you're stupid enough to get electrocuted, well, you're obviously not very familiar with contemporary way of life where a magical force from a funny nostril in a wall can kill you. If you don't respect and understand that, well, fine. But I just want that damned socket.
I could go for an extension cord from an outside socket but it's not really aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I don't know. It would be so much easier with the damned socket ready in place.
At least my bedroom is warmer. That's enough for now.
Other thing is, I went to see the new Alien vs. Predator movie.
Without much of expectations for it to be a good movie, I must say it definitely surprised me in a very positive way. It's not a movie masterpiece, it's not going to win Oscars, nor will be a big blockbuster. But it is still what Alien vs. Predator should be.
The first AvP movie sucked donkey ass. It was terrible. It had some good ideas but they totally ruined them with a totally shitty movie. The plot was ok but everything else sucked.
In the new AvP, the plot kind of sucks (but is acceptable) but everything else is pretty much awesome - or at least cool. You have a lot of people dying, you have many good alien-moments, plenty of good predator-moments --- and you have plenty of people dying (oh, said that before already).
They used quite a lot of concepts from earlier Alien and Predator movies. Especially Aliens (the second of the series) and first Predator. There are similarities in some characters, there are some similar concepts and there are some similar quotes even.
I must say I really actually liked the movie. Anyone and Everyone is of course entitled to an opinion of the movie but please go see it first before judging it. It's nothing like the first AvP, so if you didn't like that one don't let it stop you from seeing this one.
I must say, the predator in all its coolness throughout the movie was still a bit of a pussy. And the aliens still weren't 100% what they were in the Alien movies 1-3. Nevertheless, I'd say this is still better than what you'd get if you combined Alien Resurrection (the 4th in the series) and Predator 2. Think of if more like a combination of the first Predator and Aliens, with a 'crappy contemporary Hollywood idiocy'-factor of 20%.
I give it 4/5. As a good attempt to get the concept work.
That's all for today. Tchau!
I have a few updates to make.
After my last post I was still too lazy and tired and I didn't buy the stupid radiator. I did one day later. I actually bought two; one bigger oil-filled and the other a small fan heater. Now my bedroom is nice and warm and sleep is better. Unfortunately, however, I have very little use for the small heater because the stupid apartments in here don't come with a power socket in the bathroom. I wanted to use the small one for bathroom so it wouldn't be so damned cold in there - the small fan is even 'bathroom compatible' and can take in moisture and water without electrocuting people or blowing up - but the damned bathroom lacks a socket. I mean, what the hell?
Want to shave using an electric shaver? Better do it elsewhere.
Want to dry your hair with a fan? Do it elsewhere.
Want to do carpentry using an electric chainsaw? No can do!
What is the point? Oh, sure, this way no one gets electrocuted but wouldn't that just be normal evolution? Darwinism at its best? If you're stupid enough to get electrocuted, well, you're obviously not very familiar with contemporary way of life where a magical force from a funny nostril in a wall can kill you. If you don't respect and understand that, well, fine. But I just want that damned socket.
I could go for an extension cord from an outside socket but it's not really aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I don't know. It would be so much easier with the damned socket ready in place.
At least my bedroom is warmer. That's enough for now.
Other thing is, I went to see the new Alien vs. Predator movie.
Without much of expectations for it to be a good movie, I must say it definitely surprised me in a very positive way. It's not a movie masterpiece, it's not going to win Oscars, nor will be a big blockbuster. But it is still what Alien vs. Predator should be.
The first AvP movie sucked donkey ass. It was terrible. It had some good ideas but they totally ruined them with a totally shitty movie. The plot was ok but everything else sucked.
In the new AvP, the plot kind of sucks (but is acceptable) but everything else is pretty much awesome - or at least cool. You have a lot of people dying, you have many good alien-moments, plenty of good predator-moments --- and you have plenty of people dying (oh, said that before already).
They used quite a lot of concepts from earlier Alien and Predator movies. Especially Aliens (the second of the series) and first Predator. There are similarities in some characters, there are some similar concepts and there are some similar quotes even.
I must say I really actually liked the movie. Anyone and Everyone is of course entitled to an opinion of the movie but please go see it first before judging it. It's nothing like the first AvP, so if you didn't like that one don't let it stop you from seeing this one.
I must say, the predator in all its coolness throughout the movie was still a bit of a pussy. And the aliens still weren't 100% what they were in the Alien movies 1-3. Nevertheless, I'd say this is still better than what you'd get if you combined Alien Resurrection (the 4th in the series) and Predator 2. Think of if more like a combination of the first Predator and Aliens, with a 'crappy contemporary Hollywood idiocy'-factor of 20%.
I give it 4/5. As a good attempt to get the concept work.
That's all for today. Tchau!
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
Into the void
Second day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand and eight. Slightly cold, but a clear day. Life is shifting back to normality after a short season of random vacation days.
Again I woke up to the cold during the night and thus my determination for buying a radiator to my bedroom increases by the second. In fact, I will most likely go purchase one from the local Tung Chung electronics shop today.
I will not do any 2007 review today because I'm lazy and tired. I will write such thing later on. Maybe during the weekend. But yes, now I'm too lazy and tired. Can't be arsed to do anything really.
In fact, I'm so lazy and tired I'll just cut this crap short right here. I'll write something more later. Tchau!
Again I woke up to the cold during the night and thus my determination for buying a radiator to my bedroom increases by the second. In fact, I will most likely go purchase one from the local Tung Chung electronics shop today.
I will not do any 2007 review today because I'm lazy and tired. I will write such thing later on. Maybe during the weekend. But yes, now I'm too lazy and tired. Can't be arsed to do anything really.
In fact, I'm so lazy and tired I'll just cut this crap short right here. I'll write something more later. Tchau!
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