ENG : ECU, 25 June 2006, Stuttgart, Germany
Final Score 1 : 0
BECKHAM David (ENG)
Copyright: AFP / afp.com

HKers!! Please visit my friend KK's shop c.breeze!!! KK, a former banker, is a lovely girl who sells lovely ladieswear in a lovely shop in the ever so lovely Central!!

If you stand outside California Fitness on Wellington Street and you look to your left and you will see the shop!! If you happen to go to Hei Hei for lunch or happy hour then please drop by!! c.breeze is right next to the entrance to Hei Hei!!

and I started going out on the 20th of October 1000 years ago. When we were students and could not afford good food, so we used to spend the night of every 20th at a fancy restaurant to celebrate (?? ha ha!!).

But since we started working and me doing this part-time degree, it seems that the 20th is no longer that special. Recently  has been really busy. Last night he left work at 10pm. So we decided to stay in. 

Anyway on the 20th I made him yummy baked rice with porkchop + tomatoes, etc. (am too lazy to type)!!   This is a popular HK dish which we both love. I found an excellent recipe on the web and I have modified (perfected ha ha) it to our liking!!

I am hoping I don't have to cook on the next 20th ha ha ha!!! I am a lazy  !!!

9pm @ Mid-levels Escalator.

I unintentionally followed this old man uphill as he goes through bins along the way for tins. Where did he come from? Did he have a home? Family? Children?

These bags looked realyl heavy. And we all know how our fingers hurt when we are carrying heavy plastic bags. The plasticky "handles" would cut into our fingers... ouch!

Such a sad sight...

Sorry for not updating for so long!!! But since I don't have anything that can stimulate me intellectually (as in school) I really don't know what to write about. Been living like a scum for the past 2 weeks and I am loving it!! Another reason for not updating is that I couldn't connect my phone to my work PC, ie. could not transfer the photos!

Photos below were taken with my new MotoRazr V3x phone.

MONDAY

Went to Hardees with my lesbian lover after work. was on his way back from Shenyang, China. I planned to meet his at the airport.

Airport Express station in Central. Same day return ticket costs HK$100. As soon as I paid my HK$100 and boarded the train,  called and said he had arrived.  I went to the airport anyway, well for like 5 minutes, and got back on the train again for Central. LOL!

My hair is so incredibly messy and really needs a good trim. To my fellow HKers : Have you tried HAIR DO in Causeway Bay?

 had to drop off some work before heading home. He is such a workaholic now. Back when we were at uni it would be my widest dream to think that he would turn out like this. I mean, we were either sleeping or eating and never touched our books until the last minute. Ha ha!

TUESDAY

Another reason why I should dig into my savings and treat myself better. Been going to the same facial beautician lady for around 2 years and she recently moved from Central to North Point which is 30 minutes away from home/ work. We HKers are very spoilt. If we cannot get to one place (non-vital) in 45 minutes then it is likely that we would give up going there. I believe I am giving up pretty soon too. This is the old building opposite the bus-stop on HK's longest road - King's Road. The words poorly scribbled on the building behind the neon lights (central bottom of photo) says: God Loves Old People's Home. Gosh! Talk about poor location choices! Not all old people are partially sighted ok?

WEDNESDAY

Saw this elderly lady outside the Bank. She was going through the bin to see if she could find something of value, like tins or papers. I felt so sorry for her. Several weeks ago I saw TVB's Tuesday Report, a current affairs program. Reportedly around 140 thousand children in HK are living under the (HK? International?  ) poverty line. They go off to pick up piles and piles of newspapers and magazines and sell them for HK$10 to HK$20. My heart sank when I saw them. That same evening the dinner me and  had cost HK$1500, which could be used to feed a kid and his family for several weeks (I think). I felt especially sad when a girl said, "I have never eaten sushi before so I want to buy sushi models (as in plastic ones) but I cannot afford them."  I often feel guilty for being comfortable, like sitting in an air-conditioned office. I have spoken to my mum about it and she said that when  paid for our dinner he was actually doing a lot of people a lot of good.

We saw 'da Vinci Code' at IFC - the first time we went to a cinema since January 2005! Film was not as bad as some described. I have not read the book yet and could not compare the film to the book so that was probably the reason. I believe is slowly improving. I guess I could understand why he had not been putting any efforts to make me happy - he knew I would stick around anyway so why bother?

Me and my new phone! Hee hee!

'Cuisince Cuisine' @ IFC. Great Chinese food! The best stuffed crab shell in town! Normally stuff crab shell is best made at home because restaurants tend to stuff less crabmeat in. But this crab shell was packed with goodies! Must try!!!

My apologies - am still in super lazy mode after the exams! Will make sure I come up with something interesting soon!

Meanwhile...

A carpark in Tsim Sha Shui @11pm:
 

Pacific Coffee in Telford, Kowloon Bay, @7:30am.

Kowloon Bay industrial area:

Empty office one Saturday afternoon:


Relationship with  has been a little shaky lately. We are trying our best to salvage it. At times like this, I believe we should be more optimistic than practical because the latter tends to lead to negative thoughts. Don't worry I am ok. Will be  again soon!

By the way he got me a new phone yesterday:

Mine is pink! Hee hee!

HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

MY EXAMS ARE OVER!!!!!

I CAN ACTUALLY HAVE "A LIFE" NOW!!!!!

3 DOWN, JUST 1 MORE TO GO!!!!!

OMG!!!!!

You have no idea how exhausted I am. I feel like all my energy is drained by the 3 exams I had this week: Criminal Law on Tuesday, Public Law on Wednesday, and Common Law on Friday.

I believe I did alright in my exams. I am quite confident that I will get into the second year.  Having said that, I still need to work hard on Contract Law which is on Thursday.

After Common Law exam on Friday Nancy and I decided to pamper ourselves to a quiet lunch, and can you believe it, in the heart of Central. This place is called 'One Fine Day'. And we were the only customers!

The place was sooooo girlie! Their chairs were pink, and so was the wallpaper. On the shelves there were fashion magazine as well as books by Marian Keyes. It also had small handbags, bracelets, etc etc. Omg! I love this place!

<-- Face looked so dead, but sitting in a pretty pink chair made me feel better.

We were toally buying ambience. We each had a drink and a slice of toast with 'rose petal jam' and it costs HK$140, which is ok for a decent hotel but quite shocking for a cafe/ shop of this scale.

Food:

So pretty!! Hee hee!!

And so peaceful compared to the rest of Central:

 went out for Mother's Day dinner with his folks at Ocean Terminal and he bought me this:

He was inspired by Gordon Ramsay's broccoli soup which he intends to replicate. And he also said that we should drink fresh juices instead of carbonated drinks.

A tropical cyclone called 'Chanchu' (pearl in Cantonese) is heading towards areas to the east of HK. Last year we did not have one that hit us straight on. All tropical cyclones bring horrible weather. The Cantonese phrase '3 days of rain after a mild cyclone' is spot on!

Like others sitting comfortable in the office I too hoped that the HK Observatory will hoist no.8 typhoon signal so we can get a day off tomorrow. But what about the 1000 or so farmers in the New Territories? Or those less privileged people living in poorly built houses? Let's not be so selfish people!

My exams will start next Tuesday (23/5/2006) and will finish the following Thursday (1/6/2006). I must excuse myself for a while so I can focus on my last minute revision. (Why do I get myself in this all the time?  )

See you in 2 weeks time!

This is so typical of HK: people crossing the road when red light is still on. Everyone always seems to be in a rush (for nothing?!) and so eager to reach the other side of road. We would dash across the road at any given chance regardless, sometimes, of the risk of getting run over by vehicles. This includes me. I am extremely impatient and walk really fast, even in 3" or 4" pumps. Ask me friends for proof!

Theatre Lane, Central. These guys have been here for decades polishing shoes for lazy men. I remember my housemistress once used polishing shoes as a form of punishment: my friend Sarah was caught in her younger sister's room after lights-out. Her punishment was to polish all 16 pairs of shoes of girls in her sister's year. This is the same housemistress who, 2 years later, was drunk and set fire in her room and nearly destroyed the boarding house.

Jardine House, formerly known as Connaught Centre, or 'building of a million a***holes' according to 's bro djzane. When I was in kindergarten (omg so ancient: 1983-1986) we were taught that it was the tallest building in HK. Now the record is in the hands, or should I say the steel and concrete, of IFC2.

I  Hong Kong!

I finally broke down in tears during revision last night. I had not felt so stressed since I left school in 2001. I am absolutely useless ha ha!

Everyone is saying that I will do well because I have been working hard. But attending every lecture is SOMETHING I OUGHT TO DO right? Besides, poor attendance (hence lack of knowledge) was partly to blame for my crappy B.Sc. exam results, the other being laziness. AAARRRGGGHHH!

I mentioned before that I get the most pressure from . He keeps saying: "Just think right: [our friend] did it and he is not particularly bright. And if you don't do as well as he does then you are officially a retard!" He is also saying that he has everything paved for me and all I have to do is to get 2:2 or better in my exams.

To stay on track I have to constantly remind myself why I decided to take a second degree in the first place:

1. My job is so boring it makes me sick. The only way out of it is to change to another field.
2. I want more $.
3. I want to know more about 's work, and maybe to assist him in some ways.
4. I want my Uncle MT to stop thinking that I am stupid, like he has since the day I told him that Imperial College was too good for me to make an application to. 
5. I hate it when people say with a  : "So how's work at H--- S--- Bank treating you?"
6.

One thought is keeping me sane: everything will be over in 24 days!

My London Aunt DD is visiting (again) soon and I ordered the following items from amazon for free delivery in the UK, so she can bring them over:
1. Nigella Lawson's cookbook
2. Jordan's book
3. Tae Bo DVD

I sent her an email today regarding lunch on Friday and I also said: PS: Don't laugh at my amazon purchases!

And her reply was:

You read my mind. I did laugh when your Amazon purchases arrived---I was expecting heavy legal books! My goodness. Nigella Lawson and Jordan AND martail arts!!!!! See you Friday.
Love
DD