Another year...
A thousand apologies for not updating - an ol' friend from Sydney arrived last week and I have been acting as tourist guide (tourist guide nazi, more like it) these past few days.

I saw Hero on the weekend. I was amazed; it actually lived up to my high expectations! Although the martial arts action (suspend your disbelief at the wire work) and the acting was impressive, I was really drawn to the great narrative and art direction. The use of colour was more than a visual spectacle - it is integral in the narration of the story, by providing context to the different "tales" told.

Although the film is set at the dawn of the Qin Dynasty (around 200 BCE), the story has contemporary resonance. Zhang Yimou was clearly motivated in trying to explain the political ideals and the general mindset of the Chinese. (And in some ways, that is why the ending epilogue really irked me.)

It's quite unfortunate that most countries won't be able to see it until mid-2003, (even though the film is eligible for the forthcoming Oscars). Remember the name, and jot it down in your diaries!

Sliver bells, silver bells...
I had my final exam today. I am so relieved that it is all over.

With all my attention placed on that necessary evil, I have hardly been able to get into the "festive spirit". I shall try, even though there is only one day to go till Christmas.

May everyone have a joyous and peaceful festive season. Have you all been good boys and girls this year?

Bounce Back Hong Kong!*
Do you know why I think the Hong Kong economy is on the upswing? All the new home improvement projects.

Now, the feckers upstairs are renovating their flat! Crap.

*silly slogan created by the government to lift up community spirits in these relatively harsh economic times

Like a professional
This morning's (Yes, I had an exam on Saturday!) exam on Professional Practice was relatively short - only two and a half hours. Enough for a power nap in between MCQs. Most of the questions didn't directly refer to the Solicitors' Guide. Instead, anybody who possesses any common sense at all (and has watched an episode of the Practice or two) could have completed the paper; no worries.

In other news, I opened up my mailbox today, only to discover that I have been inundated with "hearts" from others on Fridae. (Fridae is a GLBT internet news magazine, with a "hook-up" service similar to the notoriously addictive Gaydar.) I was curious to know why I was receiving so many emails, especially when I haven't updated my profile for a while.

Well, I soon discovered when I surfed over to the site. Presently, I am their featured male profile! Talk about being shocked and slightly embarassed!

For those readers who wonder what I look like (although I can't see why anyone would want to check me out), surf over to Fridae. There's a small "postage stamp" potrait of me in the front page. My profile name is, of course, "urbannomad". However, for those who want to look at a larger picture of moi (and check out the kitschy wallpaper and poster of the Dallas Cowboy's Danny White in the background!) or the witty words on my profile, you have to register as a member!

How would you like your requisitions?
I just had my first exam this morning - a four hour ordeal on Conveyancing. It's difficult concentrating on any paper for that period of time, let alone one on Conveyancing. I was seriously distracted entering into the third hour. I should have brought a pack lunch into the exam hall.

In other news, my mum and sister arrived in Hong Kong for a holiday last weekend. They brought honey and Crunchie bars. Yay!

It's time to bring out the alcohol
I had an hour and a half revision lecture on Conveyancing, this afternoon. So technically, I did an hour and a half of study, right? Fat chance.

I just returned from a lil' Christmas soiree held by the Firm at the American Club. Apparently, HR and the managing partner felt that it was a good opportunity for current and future trainees to get acquainted with each other (and maybe get some meaningful advice on how to pass the bloody exams!). As expected, I acted like quite the psycho.

All of the current trainees slowly slinked back to the Firm's nearby offices to, I assume, bill a few extra hours before calling it a day. Generally, they never leave the office before 10:00pm. Should I be comforted (in these less-than-stellar economic times) or be completely horrified at this level of dedication?

I cannot wait till next year... and I'm not being sarcastic (for once).

Diversions
Okay, I'm not doing any work over here. Hardly surprising, huh? Anyway, some things I have found of interest on the internet:

I just saw the teaser trailer for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and had a really great laugh. Check out the riduculously unrealistic stunt involving a tank, a bazooka, a military truck and a military helicopter
here. This sequel appears to be as funny, outrageous and campy as the first. I just can't wait!


One film I don't have to wait till next summer to see is Zhang Yimou's martial arts epic Hero. Audience members who are unfamiliar with the wuxia genre (which is more prevalent here than gun-slinging Westerns ever were in Hollywood) will inevitably compare it to the most recent and popular film from the genre, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which wasn't as successful in East Asia, than in the rest of the world, because local audiences felt that it wasn't v. original and was only an "introduction" to the wuxia genre for Western audiences).

The ensemble cast is phenomenal and includes Jet Li (Will American audiences finally realise that he can actually act, as well as kick arse?), Zhang Ziyi (The ingenue in CTHD), the luminous Maggie Cheung and her In The Mood For Love co-star Tony Leung.

Check out the trailer here. Christopher Doyle's cinematography looks exquisite and his use of contrasting colours is amazing, especially the scene in which the crimson-wearing Maggie and Ziyi draw swords within an autumn-gold forest.

The film opens in Hong Kong on December 19. Unfortunately, audiences outside Asia will have to wait at least six months more.

Deep you-know-what
Feck. Feck. Feck.

All I have done, revision-wise, in the last couple of days is some Professional Practice readings. Even then, I haven't retained any of it. Ask me about a solicitor's duty of confidentiality and I would not be able to answer. I don't know a thing.

I blame it on the internet. I have been spending too much time online, catching up on all the blogs I used to regularly visit or reading stupid bulletin boards with the most imbecilic contributors making the most idiotic comments (but of course, these BBs are always a thoroughly entertaining read.) I am having trouble writing notes on the computer, as it is simply too tempting to click on IE and start surfing. Can you see my dilemma?

Somebody please unplug my broadband connection! Better yet, somebody take away my computer!

Bring it on (the cramming, that is)
Well, first semester is almost over. Regular classes ended yesterday (although there are some course revision classes next week) and folks have quickly flocked back home or to the library to study for the forthcoming exams. Fortunately, we have two weeks of stuvac (study vacation) before my first exam on December 12 (a four hour marathon on Conveyancing). I definitely need all that time to prepare, considering some of my texts are in mint condition (their spines are uncreased) and all the exams are closed book, to a certain extent (although some ordinances and Solicitors' Rules are exempt). Yikes!

I have six exams, pretty much one every second day, and finish on December 23 with Accounts (bummer). Then there is a lovely, yet v. brief, break till classes start again on January 6.

Pray for me, dear readers. I need divine intervention!

Money money money
Indeed, Christmas has come early pour moi. It has been three months, but the Firm has finally transferred the grant money they had promised to pay.

This means I can stop worrying about how I'm going to find enough money for food and transport next month, after payment of my next credit card bill.

I promise not to spend it on frivilous things, like clothes, DVDs and magazines. At least, not all it.

Hello, sailor!
During the "American spy plane" incident last year, many Hong Kongers dreaded the worse. Sadly to say, such fears had little to do with the then quickly-deteriorating Sino-US relations. Instead, they were mostly to do with local economics.

Beijing immediately imposed a ban on American naval vessels from using the territory as a port of call, after the heated incident. Retailers in Hong Kong winced at the mere thought of losing such a lucrative source of tourism dollars. Hong Kong's loss resulted in a gain for other cities in the region, including her dreaded uppity rival - the bland, yet efficient, Singapore.

Well, time heals "old" wounds, and nothing helps the healing process more, or shouts "let's be friends again" louder than cold hard cash.

The American aircraft carrier, USS Constellation, sailed into Hong Kong waters on Friday with its battle group. Clearly, last year's "spy plane incident" has become distant memory, with the local media, government and business communities eagerly anticipating the injection of funds into the dreary economy.

The USS Constellation battle group is currently on six-month deployment to the North Arabian Sea area and are expected to play a role in the US-led war on terrorism. They plan to stay until Wednesday. Next Friday, before the Suzies in Wanchai can even cross their legs or let out a sigh of relief, the USS Kitty Hawk and its battle group will arrive in Honkers for port call.

More than 12,000 US sailors within two weeks. Can you hear the cash registers ringing? I guess Christmas time has come early for everyone.

DVDs
Surely I knew, while I purchasing the first season of Queer As Folk on DVD, that I would pretty much be kissing good bye any and all my well-intentioned plans to study, this weekend.

Well OK, intentions mean nothing, when I knew I was never going to do any actual study. I know it's simply an attempt to delude myself early on, so that my guilty conscience is allayed.

HMV in TST¹ has become my local "crack" dealer and I frequent the store at least twice a week. Apart from becoming the place, where I purchase most of my mags, from "Attitude" and "Out" to "Men's Non-No" from Japan, I have been recently tempted by their DVDs.

When I discovered their prices, I almost wet myself. VCDs are priced from an astonishingly low HK$15 (US$2). A huge array of recent DVD titles are only HK$35. I considered buying half their stock, but remained sane and settled on just two titles - the brilliant Bring It On (One of the gayest teen movies of recent times: Awesome! Oh wow! Like totally freak me out! I mean, right on! Toros sure are number one! *with arm gestures*) and the exquisite Elizabeth (J'adore Cate Blanchett. She was bloody robbed, I tell ya!).

Total price = HK$30. Nice.

Rest assured, all the DVDs and VCDs are legit. The only real downside about these Zone 3 DVDs is that subtitles are permanently attached to the film and many of the DVD "extras" are missing. But hey, that's a small price to pay for dirt cheap prices.

Unfortunately, sets of Felicity, Sex And The City and QAF (both UK and US) are all imported, so they have foreign prices attached.

¹TsimShaTsui. I shall upload a "glossary" of "people and places" that will introduce, to the unfamiliar reader, folks whom I write about and certain places around Hong Kong.

10K
At around 11:00pm, Hong Kong time last night, this lil' whorehouse on the quiet side of the Internet superhighway received its 10,000th distinct visitor, since March.

Although it has only been eight months, it seems like I have been blogging for ages. On many occassions, I have questioned myself why I am doing this. Even at this point in time, I am still searching for an appropriate reason, as I definitely need to reflect my attentions elsewhere.

Originally, I thought a weblog would be a great medium for me to chronicle the time before and after my move to Hong Kong. As well, I felt I needed a "place" to bitch and moan about things around me. Well, the former doesn't seem so blog-worthing now and latter didn't pan out (as I felt that self-censorship and restraint was more prudent, when most regular readers know me in real life).

Alas, this site is currently suffering growing pains (or should that be "quarter-life crisis" or extended adolescence), much like the author is in real life. Which direction will this place go, who knows?

Let's get physical
After much procrastination, I hauled my lazy arse over to Central and joined a gym, last week. This afternoon, in my emaciated state (I've lost 4 kgs since August), I completed my first workout.

I felt infinitely better afterwards, both physically and mentally. What has been clearly lacking in my weekly routine these past few months has been regular exercise. My body has been deprived of that regular kick of serotonin and endorphin I used to have. I'm sure this has contributed to my most recent mood swing to the funky side.

Postscript on Lacoste and Ian Lawless: The commercial is being played on local HK television. Shockingly, Ian Lawless is wearing chinos during the whole thing, which is so not on! I feel obligated to complain (and/or start a petition, demanding to see the uncensored version) to the television censors at TVB on behalf of all those who believe in art and the beauty of the male nude form (that is, me and all the other homos).

New version
I thought I would make a few (much needed) changes to the site.

As you may correctly perceive, I do have Sydney on my mind at the moment. It is not homesickness, as I am not longing to return. It is a feeling of nostalgia, more than anything else.

The photograph of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House was taken on my last day in Sydney. HKPhooey, Will and I were bumming around the Botannical Gardens and Circular Quay that afternoon. The weather appears less than idyllic (in Sydney terms), as there were dark clouds looming above the western parts of the city. What cannot be seen is the brilliantly clear and sunny skies behind me at that time. Nevertheless, as evidenced by the photo, nothing can ever spoil that splendid view of Sydney Harbour.

I was intending to place a photo of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, but I still have not been able to take a flattering view of the skyline. On the many occassions I have stopped by the Kowloon foreshore intending to take a few pictures, the view is ruined by terrible conditions. There never seems to be clear blue sky abd the city is always shrouded in a hazy cloud of smog.

However, I shall peserve with the almost impossible task.

Notice to readers
The author of this weblog is currently experiencing a minor existential crisis. As a result, he plans to take a brief break from posting. Such occurrences are relatively common, so it is only a matter of time before updates will resume.

Apologies in advance.

The noise! The noise!
Oh fecking hell, there is just too much construction noise! I have to complete a joint venture agreement redraft, due tomorrow, but I can't bloody concentrate with the distractions.

There's the next door neighbours, then there's the neighbours in the adjoining block of flats. To make matters worse, there's even more construction work going on at the Kowloon Hospital, right outside my bedroom window. There are currently three fecking jackhammers being used at the same time!

Argggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Lacoste
It appears Yves Saint Laurent is not the only label to use an incredibly sexy, hirsute man sans apparel to sell a fragrance. Lacoste has come up with one, which I must confess, is equally as appealing (left).

The Lacoste Pour Homme advertising campaign was photographed by Herb Ritts. The model (who will surely challenge Samuel de Cubber as the most famous nude male of the moment) is Aussie model, Ian Lawless.

To view the black and white television commercial, which was also directed by Herb Ritts (with revealing scenes of Ian's naked buttocks), go here. The cheeky smirk Ian provides in the last frame is Academy Award-winning!

Responsibility
I have read enough of Dilbert to know that one should never try too hard to do one's work properly, as competency in one's work only brings about more responsibility.

I've mentioned earlier that I was "nominated" to represent my group in the biweekly Course Review Panels. The general task was to get feedback on the course (hear all the bitching, moaning and complaining, etc) and then raise the appropriate topics at the Friday afternoon meetings. I started to write emails to the group, in order to keep them updated on these meetings, as I thought it would be appropriate. Common courtesy, right?

Well, it has kind of snow-balled from there. Apart from sendng this summary email to the group, it has become the official minutes for the Department (which means that I have to refrain from writing my own smart-arse comments). Recently, I was asked to send this email to the other group representives as well, so they could distribute it to their groups as well.

My plans to lay low for this academic year are coming undone. I fear people will begin to ask who this chump Keith is and why the hell is he writing these long-winded emails for people not in his group. Considering the bitchy attitudes of some people and the general rumour-mongering culture that permeates the course (as evident on a certain HK BBS) I can only imagine what some people can do with information about me and this blog...

That's a lesson to all you kids out there. Aim for mediocrity, remain anonymous and things will always be fine.

Powerpuff advice
Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup (with the help of Mojo Jojo et al) are displayed on public announcements around the MTR subway in Honkers. Apart from providing safety advice for passengers on the trains (below) the girls advise people to stand to the right on escalators and always be considerate to the elderly in the stations.

You don't know what you've got 'til its gone
Looking back at the weather we have experienced in the past few days, November, undoubtedly, is the best month of the year in Hong Kong.

Sunny blue skies, slight crisp breezes, lower pollution levels and, more importantly, lower humidy in 17-25C temperatures, has made for some excellent weather conditions, especially to stroll around the city. To me, it is v. reminiscent of Autumn and Spring in Sydney.

I've begun to appreciate good weather more and more, since moving here. Nowadays, I find a day with great weather a pretty rare occurrence, as heavy precipitation, air pollution or high humidity always seems to be off-puttingly present. I guess, since I lived in Sydney for most of my life, it had been all too easy not to appreciate fine weather, as gorgeous days seem to roll on endlessly, one after the other, over there. *sigh*

I'm beginning to miss Sydney, especially now, with the Gay Games on!

Male models
It seems the thing on everyone's lips at the moment is Samuel de Cubber. Hmm, that came out wrong, didn't it?

Anyhoo, the entry last Wednesday, in relation to the said dead-sexy model, has resulted in quite a lot of e-traffic. The incredible numbers did give this humble author quite a fright. It also made me momentarily query whether or not I had accidently crossed links with another weblog and stumbled onto someone else's statistcs chart. Since Sunday, lil' "urban nomad" has received triple digit visitor numbers daily. Of course, there's the few regular readers and those who are looking for "Brad Tomerlin" or "underwear revealing hipster jeans", but the vast majority of visitors are from search engines referrals, by people wanting more information about Samuel de Cubber.


And while I am still one the topic of male models, I have recently discovered who the "face" of Calvin Klein's Truth is. If you recall (or refer back to the archives), I mentioned my street encounters with this model's stunning black and white Calvin Klein posters a few months earlier. (For a refresher to those who don't recall or are newer readers, I was completely mesmerized by the then-unknown model and could not peel my eyes off the advertisement whenever I walked by, on my way to yoga. How adolescent am I?!)

Well, his name is Sean DeWet (left) and he has more in common to my beloved Gabriel Aubry than sharing my stalker-like obsession. While Gab is off to less greener pastures as the face of Michael Kors, as Hilton heiress handbag Jason Shaw's sidekick in Tommy Hilfiger and, er, the guy in the last two G2000 campaigns (with Kristie Hinze), Mr DeWet has replaced Gab as Hugo Boss' exclusive male model. Coincidence?

Stamp duty
Whenever I see the Revenue Law lecturer, I'm reminded of Principal Snyder from Buffy: the Vampire Slayer. They are identical in appearance - both are small in stature, follically-challenged, have ears that point out and have giant craniums. And like the principal, the lecturer seems intent on making life uncomfortable for Buffy the students. I've mentioned this to some people already, but folks never seem to know what I am talking about. I guess Buffy isn't shown on Hong Kong television.

In what has become the norm, we completed the topic of stamp duty this morning and then went through a practice exam paper in the afternoon. Needless to say, stamp duty is far more complicated than salaries tax and the paper was universally-opined to be v. difficult. I'm hoping profits tax won't be that hard.

Skyline
Undoubtedly, one of the most spectacular scenic views in the world comes with the HK$2.20 ride on the Star Ferry on Victoria Harbour.


On both sides of the narrow strip of water (which has been excessively reclaimed and continues to be so) lie some incredibly stunning feats of modern architecture and engineering, such as Lord Norman Foster's HSBC headquarters, IM Pei's Bank of China, the funky Lippo Centre, Jardine House (aka "the House of a Thousand Arseholes") and the Convention & Exhibition Centre (aka "the Flying Cockroach") by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Of course, amongst these great buildings, the bland and the horrendous (of which there are plenty) are clearly evident. Those who were associated with construction of The Center (really tacky), the Central Library (post-modernism at its worst - references to Chippendale furniture in an Asian city!) and the Cultural Center (giant windowless school gym with the best view in HK) should be ashamed.

Although, in recent years, there has been a dramatic slow down in economic growth, construction around the Harbour has not abatted. Incredibly, in the next five years, one will see an unprecedented level of construction.

The final phase (thank God) of the Central and Wanchai land reclamation project will see the development of a garden promenade from Sheung Wan to Causeway Bay. The Star Ferry terminal will be relocated to a new location, which has been designed to pay "homage" to the original, destroyed years ago. (In fact, the design fails in this regard and looks like a second-rate imitation. The irony of it all is fantastic.)

Behind the new terminal now lies the International Financial Centre - the future "heart" of the Central Business District when completed. Currently, the 88-storey IFC 2 (which remarkably looks like an electric razor or light-beaming torch) is being constructed (adove left). When completed in mid-2003, the Cesar Pelli-designed building (which reflects his design of the Goldman Sachs building in New Jersey), standing at 420m, shall be the tallest in Hong Kong and third tallest in the world. (The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has already signed on to be tenants of the highest floors.)


Directly opposite IFC 2, on the Kowloon side, construction workers have already broke ground for Union Square Phase 7 (right), designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. This tower will stand 60m taller than IFC 2 and will be completed in 2005. Due to their locations, Union Square and IFC 2 shall fittingly act as a "gateway" to ships and cruise liners entering the Harbour. What a sight it will be to behold!

With the airport relocated from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok, previously-held height restrictions in Kowloon have been abolished. The bustling areas around Nathan Road in TST are already in the throes of redevelopment and with the completion of the KCR rail extention to the MTR subway, one can only expect further projects to reach even higher.

For some excellent information of modern towers built, being constructed or proposed in different cities around the world, go here. It's my favourite site at the moment.

Some additional information of interest: approval has been given to construct a Ferris wheel on top of Ocean Terminal in Tsimshatsui. At completion, in 2004, it will reach a height of 105m. With a wheel diameter of 75m, it will be the fourth tallest such structure in the world (after the BA London Eye and to-be-built Tokyo and Shanghai wheels).

I think it's an exciting idea and will obviously be a big attraction, when completed. However, I think many people will be curious to know how the engineers plan to make the structure withstand tropical typhoon and black rain conditions, especially when it is grounded on a pier!

Rankings
According to an index compiled by Reporters sans Frontieres, Hong Kong is ranked first in Asia and 18th in the world in press freedom.

The index measures the amount of freedom journalists and the media have in each country and efforts made by government to see that press freedom is respected. It was drawn up by asking journalists , researchers and legal experts to answer 50 questions about press freedom violations in their respective countries.

Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands shared first place. The US came 17th and mainland China came 138. North Korea was the worst offender at 139th and last spot.

Hong Kong should be proud of its relatively free press and protect it vigorously, especially when the currently proposed anti-subversion legislation could dramatically alter this.

In another survey, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups found that almost a third of more than 2,000 respondents to a questionaire were unable to name a single item that makes them feel proud of the SAR. This clearly reflects the pessimistic and judgemental attitude held many local people, especially in these hard economic times.

However, of those who were able to answer, the most popular choices were freedom (16.6%), the strong spirit and diligence of HK people (8.6%), infrastructure (8.2%) and economic achievement (6.9%).

Do you see a common theme to all this?

Trinkst du Bier gern?
Yesterday, some folks and I attended the opening night of the month-long German Bierfest, held on a sixth floor hotel carpark, with a killer view of the harbour, in Tsimshatsui. (In previous years, between 15,000 to 20,000 attended.)

Everyone had a sensational time. There was some v. tasty German food (hmmm, Bratwurst und Kartoffelsalat) and, obviously, plenty of fresh beer. I have never been much of a beer drinker, but then one can argue that I had never tasted das Bier aus Deustchland before - it's far superior than the Australian or American stuff.

The Notenhoblers, from Munich, provided some excellent entertainment, which included a longhorn-playing drag queen called Tina, "the Munich Olympics", the ubiquitous Chicken Dance and some tragic DJ Otzi and Venga Boys covers, which can only be tolerated "appreciated" while intoxicated. To great rounds of applause from an appreciative audience, the band even played a couple of Cantonese numbers, including the classic Shanghai Beach. Liz and I felt that one particular member of the band had way to much charm for his own good, with his cute Bavarian accent, comedic antics and impressive use of Cantonese.

Afterwards, some folks wanted to sing karaoke, so we staggered across Canton Road to the nearest establishment - a Hello Kitty-themed karaoke club. Clearly, my intoxicated state impaired my usual judgement (I have complete disdain for karaoke and Hello Kitty), as I did not automatically leave for home, but stayed there till 1:30am. Needless to say, I did miss the Accounts lecture this morning at 9:30.

Hong Kong nightmare
A Hong Kong resident's worst nightmare (apart from partaking in an all-you-can-eat buffet and finding out there is no seafood) is, undoubtedly, living through the home renovations of a neighbour.

I am living through the nightmare.

Some new neighbours moved in next door the other week. The previous tenant, according to my gradfather, was an old man, whose family (like half the tenants in the building) all moved to Canada. He stayed there alone, for half of the year and the rest of the time in Canada. As the story goes, he unexpectedly died one day and was only discovered by the part-time domestic help, a few days later. Quite obviously, the place has been vacant for a while. I wonder if the new neighbours know?

Anyway, I digress. The new neighbours moved in and without as much as a courtesy call or mailbox note to moi, they brought in some contractors and began renovating the place.

It is generally well known that the size of residential accommodation in HK tends to be on the smaller side (OK, homes here are like shoeboxes), so the slightest noise of one tenant would easily disturb the domestic peace of those living in adjacent flats. Regular residential building plans don't help either. It is common practice for builders to shun false ceilings, as the space between would seriously limit the number of floors that can be constructed in a height-restricted property. Dry-walling is completely unfashionable, meaning all walls (including internal ones) are made full-brick. So, when they start knocking down the walls, with HK's favourite tool - the jackhammer - the noise can be unbearable.

I could go on and on about the dust the workers produce! The whole common area around the elevators is completely covered with dust. Furthermore, the stuff has been seeping into the flat as well. I had to go around with a wet rag to clean it up. I should sternly warn them that they are currently violating their Deed of Mutual Covenant and that if there is no action taken in the immediate future to rectify this situation, I shall inform our fellow tenants in common and legal action may be considered. (See, I did learn something in Conveyancing!)

In complete contrast with the contractors at home, the ones here tend to work more than five hours a day, five days a week. They usually start early, finish late, seven days a week!

Yves Saint Laurent
From October 24, within the pages of various fashion publications, there will be a provocative advertisement for YSL's new men's fragrance, M7.

Generally, advertising campaigns for perfumes do not generate much media attention (unless it's the relaunch of Poison by YSL, with Sophie Dahl stretched out on her back, sans clothes, in ecstasy), but M7 has caught the eyes of journalists all around, and it's not just because the model (former tae kwon do champion Samuel de Cubber) is so damn fine. Schwing!

M7 will be the first campaign by a leading fashion house to use full-frontal male nudity. Many publications, including Out (and their editorials are so more provocative than this) are refusing to publish the advertisement. In consideration of this, YSL is offering mainstream media a toned-down version showing de Cubber from the waist up instead (shown above).

The M7 campaign is hardly gratuitous nudity without meaning or context. It is a fitting homage to beautiful nude of Yves Saint Laurent by photographer Jeanloup Sieff in 1971.

As general courtesy to the conservative, prudish or phallophobic, I have posted the full frontal version of the advertisement here.

Raise your hands if you want to join the Samuel de Cubber fanclub?

Victime de mode
In general, society in Hong Kong is highly conformist. Obviously, this charasteristic is common amongst Asian societies, where the "comfort" of the group comes before the rights of the individual. People tend not to "rock the boat", as such an action would "disturb" the community as a whole.

However, there is one aspect of living in which individual preferences are freely expressed, without the same degree of ridicule or prejudice as in the West - fashion.

Many Hong Kongers have taken their inspirations from different sources, varying from Tokyo fashionistas to Carrie Bradshaw. There are some, like the tutu-wearing, Tina Turner-haired PCLLer at CityU, who look way fierce, while there are others who offend the eyes of others by simply looking cheap and nasty.

Since I arrived, I have been dismayed by the sheer proliferation of Bon Jovi mullets. Commonly, this frightful sight can be seen on the heads of both genders, often aged well into their thirties. Teens and twenty-somethings caught having one understandably have the excuse (experimentation), but one would suspect that a thirty-something has had enough life experience (as well as having lived through the Eighties in their youth) to know better than to attempt to revive the mullet. Recently, I saw the most vile sight - two garish mullets in persimmon orange on a couple! It looked as though they both went to the salon at the same time and asked for the same hairstyle (maybe there was a two-for-one?). Couples dressed identically is weird; having the same hairstyle is disturbing!


Anyway, speaking of fashion victims, I am seriously considering overhauling my wardrobe. Currently, I am wearing button-down shirts, for the sake of looking different (as everyone else seems to be wearing T-shirt, jeans and sneakers). However, the opportunity to wear more outlandish "fashion-forward" clothing in HK (without general public ridicule) is one reason I am encouraged to make my own statement (or to be more precise, copy someone else's statement) in fashion. This means late 70's/early 80's punk fashions (think more of Johnny Rotten schoolboy, than Sid Vicious scary motherf@cker). Fashionistas have raved about Hedi Slimane's (who calls the Clash's Paul Simonon a style icon) skinny black tie and white shirt offerings, for Dior Homme (left) and I have to concur.

Readers' opinions on such a stylistic change would be greatly appreciated.

Update
People needn't have to tell me. I have been a naughty, lazy boy for not keeping this blog up-to-date. Indeed, I have been v. discourteous to readers, by stripping this site to its bare bones and removing the links and supplementary pages, without replacing them. I shall attempt to resolve my tardy behaviour from here on, okay?

Isn't it always lovely to receive word from friends abroad in the mail? Not to sound like a whining Luddite, but letter writing, and penmanship in general, is a lost art that should be revived. There is nothing better or puts a smile on my face quicker (and I don't often smile) than receiving a piece of mail from someone halfway around the world. Email doesn't have the same qualities as old-fashioned mail, nor does it seem as personal. It is simply words on a flashing screen, often hastily written and instantly sent off with a click of a button. On the other hand, putting pen to paper takes time, effort and forethought, and as such, always has more heart.

Anyway, after another long, tedious day at uni, I went over to Central to pick up my mail, which included a really nice postcard from Naoko and a video tape of the four final episodes of Felicity from CreatineMonster back home.

Naoko and I have corresponded on-and-off to each other, ever since that fantastical year in Chapel Hill. More recently, we've been emailing each other quite regularly. We are both, figuratively, fish out of water in environments we aren't completely familiar with. After her time in Carolina, she went back to Japan to complete her bachelor's, only to return to the US (and to an ACC university!) for postgraduate studies. She's currently "suffering" through a PhD in Economics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

CreatineMonster has been my lifeline to news from home. Lately, there has been some unfortunate events that have awoken the nation from, what many consider, the false sense of safety lulled into by distance from "the rest of the world". (I am not willing to delve into them, as I have less information than any other person, and I do not wish to make, what could be cynically interpreted as, a completely presumptuous or pretentious statement.) It is always difficult to sense the mood of a place from afar, especially when popular media is the only source of information. Unless, of course, there is someone over there to mention what is often missed, one always gets half the picture.

Video games
Some folks and I went to this dinghey video arcade in Tsimshatsui (after a period of indecision on where to go) this afternoon. I'm quite pathetic at video games (except Super Bomber Man!) and it showed, when I literally threw away money attempting to play Street Fighter III, the skiing simulator game and that undead shoot 'em up.

I have sworn that I will never play Dance Dance Revolution and I have kept the promise... for now. However, I did go close to breaking it, when I played three times on a tamborine game with Liz. Trying to explain the concept of the game without sounding pathetic is a bit difficult. Shaking and hitting a tamborine along to some funky Japanese pop music sounds so stupid, but from the amount of time we wasted on the game, it proves that such a game can be so addictive.

Xavier has been heralded as the tamborine king. He is bloody good at shaking and hitting the thing to the proper directions (as opposed to the rest of us, who are uncoordinated and percussionally-challenged - even though I played the big cymbals and triangle in the percussion section of the orchestra in Benjamin Britten's Noyes Fludde in Grade 6). If he is absent from any PCLL lectures and tutorials in the near future, it is highly likely he will be playing the pink tamborine to Track Eight at the video arcade.

I have photos for future blackmailing.

Documentaries
I went to a promotional screening of two award-winning American documentaries, organised by the HK Independent & Short Film Awards, last night. I dragged HKPhooey along to the screening, which had the vague title, "War Among Us". Somehow he had the impression I was taking him to a screening of documentaries about the "war on terror", even though I had mentioned a week earlier that they concerned different kinds of conflict within the US, which have been going on in America (and in other countries) for decades now - big business v small community and moral conservatives v gay rights advocates.

Anyhow, the two documentaries were Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town and Scout's Honors. The former concerns Wal-Mart's attempts at establishing one of their mega strip malls in the small Southern town of Ashland, VA. As Wal-Mart is the biggest corporation in the world, in terms of revenue, and has some of the most shrewd and "admired" business practices (it likes to place stores so close together that they cannibalises each other's markets a la McDonald's), a small, yet vocal opposition, created by some residents, had an overwhelmingly uphill battle to persuade their own town council to reject any planning approval for a local Wal-Mart. In the end, Wal-Mart, with its big incentives, like extra funding for roadwork and greater tax revenue, were too irresistable.

I love how the documentary perfectly captures the environment and "feel" of the town, which was so typically Southern. It reminded me of all the gentil, little communities I visited in VA, WV, NC and SC.

The latter documentary traces the conflict between the anti-gay policies of the Boy Scouts of America and the broad-based movement by some of its members to overturn them. The efforts of David Rice, Tim Curran, James Dale, and especially Steven Cozza are totally courageous. For a teenager to take such a vocal stance on gay rights (and who is not even gay) Steven Cozza is an absolute inspiration. That guy definitely has heart. He is a true hero in my eyes, as well as many others!

SCMP
Wow, was I pleasantly surprised when I opened the Sunday Post. On the front of its Sunday Young Post section, there was a great article concerning gay youth in HK. The piece mentioned the coming out stories of two HK Chinese high schoolers and the support provided by their families/friends.

Even though modern HK society retains v. much the conservative Chinese traditions (such as filial piety) of yesteryear, it is definitely encouraging to see progressive articles such as this one, written with a sympathetic and understanding voice.

I withdraw my earlier comment about how the SCMP is now merely a shadow of its former glory and is little more than Beijing-appeasing, printed toilet paper. Some of it is quite good, like said article and the daily columns of HK's last economic optimist, Jake Van der Kamp, in the Business 2 section.

Il est très unusal
Is it completely redundant to describe a French film as bizarre?

To highlight the opening of 8 Women in HK, there is a Francois Onzone retrospective at a cinema in the middle of nowhere (OK, I shouldn't be insulting. It was in Yaumatei. The area is a complete flashback to 1950's HK.). It's incredibly hard to describe the film, Criminal Lovers, except to say that the plot is a Deliverance-meets-Hansel-and-Gretel, gothic, teenage tragedy. There are even elements of Blue Lagoon, Alive and Fatal Attraction, to confuse anyone who is trying to create a mental picture.

I am simply unable to say whether or not I like the film. What I do know, is that the whispered commentary of the fellow in the row behind me were hilarous! (Masterbating with spirit fingers... hah!)

Just for laughs
From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his cellphone and calls the emergency services. He gasps: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says: "Calm down, I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."

There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: "OK, now what?"

According to the LaughLab experiment conducted by psycholgist Richard Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, that was the funniest joke in the world (pourquois?). The experiment was dubiously conducted on the internet (there goes all ounce of credibility), where people were invited to rate jokes out of five and to nominate their favourites.

As well as identifying the joke that appealed most to people around the world, the experiment revealed wide humour differences between nationalities.

People from the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand preferred gags involving word play, such as:

PATIENT: "Doctor, I've got a strawberry stuck up my bum."
DOCTOR: "I've got some cream for that."

Americans and Canadians favoured jokes where people were made to look stupid.

TEXAN: "Where are you from?"

HARVARD GRAD: "I come from a place where we do not end our sentences with prepositions."

TEXAN: "OK -- where are you from, jackass?"

Meanwhile, many Europeans liked gags that were surreal or made light of serious subjects such as illness, death and marriage:

A patient says, "Doctor, last night I made a Freudian slip, I was having dinner with my mother-in-law and wanted to say: 'Could you please pass the butter?'

"But instead I said: 'You silly cow, you have completely ruined my life.'"

Surprisingly, Germans laughed the most (additionall proof that the experiment is statistically flawed or proof that Germans have such bad humour, they would laugh at anything) and Canadians were the most humourless.

Ha ha, strawberry and cream...

Course Review Panel
I am too tired to blog. I have another day of lectures tomorrow morning.

Instead of the usual bitching and moaning, here is an email I just wrote, as group representive, to the other members, for your general reading pleasure:

Dear Group 3,

Here is a brief outline of the issues raised in the second Course Review Panel on Friday afternoon.

1. Christmas Party. There are plans to organise a Christmas/End of Semester Party, on the night of the final exam (Accounts on 23 December), but it all depends on the level of student interest. Expected price for the event is $50 per person and will most likely be held somewhere on campus. Folks should expect a guest speaker (required in order to gain Faculty and University support), a DJ, some nibblies and drinks of the alcoholic variety.

A page, with an online poll, will be set up on the PCLL website, to gauge the level of student support for this event.

2. Open Book Exams. Although many people are supporting this, it is unlikely that many of our exams will be open book. It all depends on the coordinators of each subject.

3. Schedule Changes. Many feel that notice of changes in the schedule are coming too late. In addition, people feel that there are too many sources of information (pigeonholes, emails, notice board and website) that need to be looked at, in order to be aware of all schedule changes. In future, the Department plans to improve their timing, in notifying students of changes. In addition, they plan to centralize the posting of notices, so people only need to look at one or two sources for all relevant changes to the schedule.

4. Training Contracts and Graduate Recruitment. The majority of people will be seeking training contracts in the near future. However, the Department, Faculty and University are sadly not resourced to help students in this area. Many feel that the Careers Placement Centre in the Meng Wah building does not adequately cater for the special needs of PCLL students.

Doug Arner, in the Faculty, has made some progress in creating a database of law firms to better aid PCLL students in finding training contracts.

Plans are underway for the creation of a Careers Officer, in the Faculty, to offer assistance to those seeking training contracts and/or pupillage. Great plan, but don't hold your breath! It'll probably come into fruition long after we graduate!

5. Examination marking. Papers with marginal passes, marginal fails and distinctions will be marked more than once to ensure fairness of the grade.

6. Accounts. A request was made for more model question and answers for Accounts. These will merely be optional exercises!

7. Photocopied cases. Since people have all paid over $1400 for course materials, many on the Panel feel that it is only fair if the Faculty would print out all the cases. Everyone knows how to find cases, and photocopying them ourselves merely wastes valuable time and effort. However, acceptance of this request is unlikely.

8. Past exam papers. Nathanson assures us that even though the course format has changed, the exams will basically be of a similar format to previous years. However, one should always check with each subject coordinator about exam formats in their respective subjects. It is also important to note that the knowledge review sessions at the end of the semester will also help in telling us what is and is not examinable.

OK, that was pretty much the gist of the meeting. If anyone has a question or something they would like me to mention or find out in future Panels, don't hesitate in telling me. You could leave an anonymous note in my pigeonhole if you like.

Cheers,
Keith

About me
I have been extremely dissatisfied with my "About Me" page for the longest time (pretty much since I uploaded it), so I decided to de-link it.

So, a new page will be coming soon. Just don't hold your breath!

Revenue Law
Why oh why must they insist on us sitting through a practice exam on salaries tax? To make matters worse, it is completely closed book.

I think I'll start doing some work then...

Blogger Pro
I switched to Blogger Pro today. Will it make any difference to my writings?

National Day

The East is red, the sun has risen,
China has produced a Mao Zedong.
He creates fortune for the people,
Hu er hai yue, he's the saviour of them all!

Yes, it is National Day - a public holiday to celebrate the founding of the People's Republic of China. Yet another public holiday within the space of two weeks (the other was the Mid-Autumn Festival).

Please forgive me if I am not overly enthused with patriotic fervour. There may be no classes today, but we are required to attend some lectures on Saturday morning.

Mongkok
Why is it that when there is more choice, it always takes longer to make a decision?

Case in point: shopping for a pair of trainers in Mongkok¹. On one street, there is more than twenty stores selling every concievable trainer money can buy. I swear I went to at least ten. After thirty minutes, I knew I was starting to suffer from some sort of visual overload. All the shoes began to look the same and it was completely impossible to differentiate one design from another. Predictably, I left frustrated, more confused and without intended purchase.

¹Mongkok. One of the most densely populated places in HK, if not the world. It is Hong Kong's version of "the Valley", where indigenous trends and incromprehensible local slang are spawned and incubated. The area is famous for the Mongkok mui (girl); not to be mistaken for the historic Wanchai one of Suzie Wong fame.

In addition, it's a district in Kowloon that is reknowned for its retailing, including its "old-fashioned" markets. There is one street that almost entirely sells electronic goods and another for sporting apparel.

All by myself
My grandfather left for Canada this afternoon. For him, it is the end of a v. long journey - more than a year of travelling, around Southern China and Sydney - that began soon after my grandmother died. It seems so strange - he's returning to Edmonton, to the place he now calls home and I'm staying in the place, which he once called home¹.

It feels so odd. It has only been a few hours, but already the flat feels so empty and quiet. The place seems so much bigger, with just me inside. It's the first time I am living by myself, without family members or housemates around. Could that be what is spooking me?

Maybe. But I sometimes get an eerie feeling, which has something to do with the black and white ancestral photos, next to the large Taoist altar in the living room. Quite ridiculously, I'm always reminded of the old Chinese ghost stories I used to watch when I was younger. Ghosts and demons and Chinese vampires²...oh my!

I should stop writing - I think I'm scary myself! Well, at least I won't be alone, at least not in the technical sense - I found out the other night that there is a gecko in the flat. (Well, I hope it is a gecko. It's way too big to be a regular garden lizard...) I'm naming this new flatmate Ahh jai.

¹My family is quite typical of the great Chinese diaspora that occured in Hong Kong during the 80's and early 90's. Most of my father's family emigrated - to Australia, Canada or the US.

²In Chinese folklore, vampires look like blue corpses in priestly garb. They hop, instead of walk, with their arms stretched in front of them. Humans turn, once bitten or scratched by their long finger nails. They are blind and seek humans out by a person's breathing. They are stopped by attaching holy notes to their foreheads and are afraid of raw glutinous rice.

Troy
My fellow Greek mythology dorks everywhere, have you heard?

Brad Pitt is going to play the near-invincible warrior Archilles, while Eric Bana will be playing Hector, in director Wolfgang Petersen's (A Perferct Storm) Troy. With a budget of US$140 million and a final runtime expected to clock in at two hours 45 minutes, it's going to be epic!

Who cares if Helen is supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the world... the cast is being filled with the most beautiful men!

eBay 2
Pheww... I just got outbid by a veteran eBay buyer (with over 280 purchases).

I placed a maximum bid of US$60.99 for a mint, unopened edition of Visionaire 34 - Paris Dior Homme (retail price US$175). Although, I was only the fourth bidder, with the previous bid made two days ago, it took only a couple of hours before my bid was overtaken.

The current bid price is still under $100, but I think I have had my fun. I think I'll stop now...

Food for thought 3
Christ! Mum emailed me with the results of a blood test I took, while in Sydney. Apparently I have high cholestrol - 6.0, when I'm suppose to have less than 5.2.

It's not as though I eat a whole lot of fatty foods. Then again, it could be hereditary, as my mum and her brother are currently taking medication for their cholestrol levels.

In the sagely words of Gwyneth Paltrow (By the way, did you hear that that bitch is now dating Prince Felipe of Spain? Please, couldn't she just enrol in a convent, become a nun and take a vow of chastity or something, instead of "tainting" all the heart-throbs of the world? Brad, then Ben and now Prince Charming!), I am a skinny fat person.

eBay
I was never particularly interested in the whole concept of online auctions. I really couldn't see the mass appeal of eBay at all... until today.

I was simply procrastinating on the computer, as per usual, when I started fiddling around with Sherlock, Mac's clever little search engine. I went into its eBay channel and curiously typed in a couple of items to see if anything came up. Something did. Before the little voice in my head could shout, "Bitch, don't do it", I found myself registered and bidding.

I currently have the highest bids for two items. Come on, punish me with your comments!

Food for thought 2
Argghh! I've lost three kilos since I've been here. I'm only 68kgs!

I know it cannot simply be the sauna-like weather conditions or the extra amount of walking. I have been eating less.

Firstly, the air pollution definitely factors in here. Simply breathing in the air outside is like constantly smoking cigarettes. As a result, I simply have no appetite. Apart from that, decent food here is so expensive.

In Australia, people are absolutely spoilt for choice and quality, when it comes to great, affordable food. Hong Kong may be seen as a gourmet mecca, but when you're on a limited budget, that's not what it seems. You can definitely eat cheaply here, but then you would often have to either forgo quality or hygiene (or both).

Also, I can't seem to find decent Thai or Vietnamese, of comparable quality to that found in Sydney. I'm even dreaming about gigantic bowls of steaming hot beef pho noodles, with mounds of raw bean sprouts and lashings of mint, chilli paste and lemon. Mmmm...

Other crappy news: something is wrong with one of my camera's memory cards. iPhoto won't recognise it's contents. What should I do? There's some great photos on there that I don't want to lose.

The dodgy photocopying store behind the uni bus stop is back in business. I went there with a long list of ordinances (statutes) for them to copy. Don't worry, such practice is perfectly legit. It's just that I didn't think it was wise for me to print out the thousands of pages myself. It's far more economical (at 10c per page) to get them to do it and takes up considerably a lot less time.

Taking the ordinances back home was quite an arduous task, especially when I forwent the usual 103 that travels directly home. Instead, I took the minibus to the Central ferry pier, then the Stay Ferry, before the 7 bus. In the afternoons, I can usually take 15 minutes off the 103 journey this way. However, this evening, it took bloody 2 hours and left me completely knackered. I'll remember never to take such a route during peak hour again.

I would have loved to finish up for the week at 3:00, but I had to stay back after the Small Group (SG) for the Course Review Panel (which I was unluckily selected to represent my SG at) after 5:00. The meeting was actually quite interesting and was an excellent opportunity for everyone to complain about the course. It was the department's prerogative to hear about the students' concerns about the course. Naturally, as a born complainer and annoying critic, I gave my two cents.

The department staff promised food for the next meeting, which is always good incentive to return and participate. A suggestion made by one for alcoholic beverages was hastily knocked back. That could actually be a good idea, as I always thought inebriation brought about full and frank discussions.

PS: My DSquared fashion purchases consisted of a long-sleeve white T-shirt, with "BlameCanada" emblazoned on the front and "4DeanandDan" on the back (the designers are Canucks), and a pair of tobacco-coloured cotton hip-huggers. For snapshots of DSquared's A/W '02 collection, check out First View. They have this whole New-England-schoolboy-meets-Southern-hillbilly-meets-cowboy-trucker collection this season, including sleeveless tops over long Ts, beanies over caps and "picnic blankets" over jackets. All v. sexy.

Sunny days are here again (without the ugly humidity)
There is simply no logic to the PCLL timetable. Trying to figure the thing out would inevitably leave one with a big headache. Somehow, the "geniuses" who created the schedule have done so, so that every week is different with varying numbers of hours, lectures and tutorials. (I think they were trying to be creative.) For this week, I only had to attend one lecture each morning (grrr) for a couple of hours.

So what have I been doing with my idle hours after uni? Surely going to the library and studying is completely out of character? Quite true. Well, mostly I've been wandering around, walking the streets (in the non-prostitute sense).

I had been meaning to go to the new Museum of History for a while. I got the opportunity to do so, yesterday. (Free admissions on Wednesdays, folks.) It is really encouraging to see the development of such an institution in HK, where the general impression folks get is that local Government and business would rather forget parts of the past (with its incessant drive to build bigger, brasher, taller towers and let's-reclaim-as-much-of-the-harbour mantra.) A clear example of this is the destruction of most of the historic buildings in Central. (I almost wept when I saw the pictures of the original Alexandra House. Absolutely exquisite and a complete contrast to the bland structure that stands on the site today.)

"The Hong Kong Story" is the permanent exhibition in the museum. Though there are galleries that display HK's prehistoric past and natural environment, the main emphasis of the exhibition is on the past 150 years.

Quite recently and in virtually every economic article, writiers and analysts have pessimistically stated the inevitable demise of Hong Kong as a strong economic entity. In many respects, they all have quite valid arguments (particularly if the Region sits idle and there are no reforms to the economy). But more importantly, I think many of these folks should take a refresher course in HK's history, particularly that the last 50 years. Apart from some "happy" and short-lived years in the mid-90's where the economy spiralled to deliriously stratospheric heights, the ex-colony has faced some of the most insurmountable problems, both economic and social, which make the recent concerns seem small by comparison. (Although HK's social progress is absolutely astounding and is the true "miracle" of the place, I'll concentrate on its economic development. I might even talk more about it if folks are interested...)

During each decade, HK has had to evolve its identity, not just for economic expansion, but economic survival. During the Korean War, with the embargo on Chinese goods, many (even the SCMP) heralded the demise of the colony, as its role as an entreport was suddenly cut. What did people do? They turned to manufacturing - everything from plastic flowers to toys to underwear.

The 60's came around, with a new set of problems. During the Cultural Revolution, Mainland sympathisers held riots on the street. Many considered the "end" was near then.

How about the 80's or even the 90's? Would you think people would remember the events after the Joint Declaration in 1984 or Tianamen in 1989? Wouldn't you think more than 50,000 people from the educated middle class emigrating annually would be a real sign in the lack of confidence in the future of the place?

I think I've moved a little bit away from the topic. Anyway, although there were some exclusions, including reference to the British governors of the last 40 years that did raise my eyebrows, in general, I wasn't disappointed with the place at all.

In other news, I found out where DSquared is sold. Needless to day, I did indulge. Shame on me.

Hemlock
Does anyone know the url for Hemlock, a self-proclaimed "obnoxious expatriate"? I have been trying to find his website on the internet with no avail. He used to publish a satirical paper called the Not The South China Morning Post.

Hemlock writes a "journal" on daily life in Hong Kong, which one will find is deliciously evil, sometimes mean-spirited, often scandalously defamatory, but always v. v. funny. He has also uploaded some of his favourite exotic recipes to share.

Raining cats and dogs
The weather has changed. After more than two weeks of insufferably hot and muggy weather, its become v. wet, yet slighty cooler. If one can call 26C cool weather.

A Tropical Typhoon Warning No. Eight (my first) was hoisted up by the Obversatory on Wednesday afternoon. As a consequence, classes at uni were cancelled. Typically at such times, office workers take off, school lessons are cancelled and businesses shut up. I hurriedly took off for home, when I heard that we could. I didn't know how serious I needed take such a warning, but sided on the more cautionary side. From the jammed phone lines, incredibly queues for taxis and buses and the congested streets, there seemd to be great urgency for people to return home. I arrived back home at 2:30.

At 4:00, I received a call from HongKongPhooey, a couple of hours after the official warning had been erected. He was casually returning home from the train station. He had spent the afternoon at Festival Walk, after his classes were cancelled. It seemed some people weren't at all worried about an imminent typhoon "attack".

Rains and strong winds did come, but there was no typhoon - it headed straight past the Region. The day after, some folks at uni nonchalantly stated that was a complete over-reaction by the Observatory, that the weather registered a mere Five or Six in their books.

Like earthquakes in California, I guess you're only a local, when you can say such a thing...

Brad Tomberlin
Omigosh, this is hysterical. Nevertheless, I need to do some damage control...

On Friday, CreatineMonster received an email from the Group Moderator for one of Bradly Tomberlin's Yahoo! fanclubs, concerning the statement I made in this blog (a while ago) that CM was Brad's husband. (Hyperlink in the right-hand column.) In that email, the moderator asked CM to prove that he is married to Brad. Of course, CM is not his husband. I was merely joking and was simple a reference to the "devotion" he has to the "Men's Health" cover model.

To my knowledge, Brad is heterosexual and has not, at anytime, met CM, let alone been CM's husband. Apologies to those who were misled by my comment.

Dead boring
I miss my bed. Even though I bought a new queen mattress last week, it doesn't feel as good as my bed in Sydney. It's really getting to me. I haven't had a good night's sleep since getting here. I think mere lethargy will soon turn to full-fledge psychosis.

In other news, Liz and Xavier have decided to share a flat together. They have decided to rent a three-bedroom place in Kowloon Tong for HK$15,000 (US$1,900) per month (excluding utilities), which beats their current place of accommodation. Like all the other Aussies at CityU, they were unable to obtain dorm rooms, so they had to suffice with renting a serviced "apartment" (more like hotel room with ensuite) for HK$7,800 (US$1,000) a month. Who would have thought, hey?

Subjects are being taught in complete blocks. During the next few weeks, the whole subject of Professional Practice shall be taught. Today, the expected two hour lecture was cut to just one.

Afterwards, I attended I highly unpublicised speech on campus by Justice Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court in the plush surroundings of the University Board's conference room. He popped into Honkers after a judicial tour of China sponsored by the Asia Foundation. Most of the conservative justice's comments remained quite tame and uncontroversial. (Unless there are requests on what he said, I'ld pass on boring folks to sleep this once.)

The highlight of my day was riding on the Campbell's Soup Bus to uni. Check out some of the photos here.

Visionaire
Omigosh, PageOne sells Visionaire. To call it just a "magazine", is to say FDR was just an "American President" or Madonna is just a pop singer. It is one of the most inspiring materials in the design/fashion world. Each quarterly edition is meticulously crafted, has a special theme and is limited to 4,000 copies.

They are selling five past "issues" (No. 35 is on "Men" and has photos of Casear by Jeff Burton), as well as their current one, at their Harbour City store. How much does the No. 38 issue produced in collaboration with Tiffany & Co. (the "Love" edition is held in a specially designed Tiffany book case) cost? A whopping HK$1,885.

Take a deep breathe. I'ld be crazy to buy it, right? Well, a guy can dream...

Professional Practice
I had to attend a "English Language Awareness" panel on Saturday morning. For an hour and a half, the lecturer, Nathanson, and two fabulous guest speakers, Margaret Ng and Anna Wu, talked about the importance of possessing fluent English in the legal profession in HK.

It may be surprising to hear that there needs to be such a talk here, considering it is fundamental to have a strong standard of the language to understand the laws effectively and the laws of the Region are based on English laws, etc, but the dire levels of English competency amongst recent local graduates being called up to the Bar or qualifying as solicitors have compelled the University to take action. (That's one of the reasons why there are so many Australian-educated folks at PCLL. UNSW alone has more than 20 out of 83 at CityU and 12 at HKU this year.)

In order to address the decline in standards, the Department of Professional Legal Education have implemented a new program of English Immersion, where PCLLers are strongly urged to speak, think, listen, read and dream in English on and off campus for the whole year.

Nathanson introduced the topic by trying to explain the apprehension of young Hong Kongers to speak English - a misplaced sense of patriotism (it would be betraying the motherland to speak the tongue of the formal colonisers), fashion (with the development and maturation of an indigenous popular culture, Western culture influences do not dictate youth to the same degree as before) and fear from being seen as inarticulate and stupid (hey, I have the same feeling speaking Cantonese!). The standard of English in the Region has declined at the University and in the community in the last few decades. Anyway, it was all quite interesting, but as Margaret Ng said, "it is not relevant to the topic at hand".

Marget Ng is one tough cookie. Educated at an Oxbridge college, called to the Bar and currently a member of Legco (HK's form of pseudo-parliament), she played the bad cop in the panel. Discarding all niceties, she plainly stated that without fluent English, one would not be marketable (and in capitalistic HK, virtually worthless)! In answering a question on Chinese patriotism, she said that it would not only be a disservice to oneself and one's career, but a disservice to the future of HK and the Motherland, as its only advantageous role is being a conduit between China and the rest of the World.

Playing the good cop was Anna. As befit for one who is the Equal Opportunities Commissioner, she kiindly urged people to commit to the program.

Although it was all v. interesting, it is near impossible to enforce the scheme. From the conversations in the lecture theatre this morning, you could see that the talk didn't persuade many!

I'ld pass about writing on this morning's lecture. I don't think anyone learnt anything. It was another one-and-a-half-hour uni day.

Afterwards, I spent ages in line to obtain my student card. I couldn't imagine how it could take that long to take a photo and print out some stuff - it wasn't glamour photography. Anyways, waiting behind a group of exchange students, I realised that the theory CreatineMonster and I developed in Sydeny - that foreign students always look better than local students - could be transposed to the student population at HKU (it is so true in USyd and UNSW). An hour and one unflattering digital photo later, I was finally allowed to get on with my day.

End of a tradition
Like the students of the preceeding year's PCLL, HongKongPhooey and a few other CityU fellows travelled all the way across the harbour to the hole-in-the-wall printing shop near HKU, notorious for selling complete photocopies of expensive legal texts for as littles as HK$40 (US$5). (Can you see the irony of breaking the law, in order to become better lawyers?) Upon arrival at the place, they realised they had walked into an undercover raid by customs officials. To their good fortune, the officers sternly warned them off, as it was not the consumer that they wanted to arrest.

Well, according to the SCMP today, customs officers arrested 14 people from 8 shops in Kowloon Tong (where CityU is), Mongkok (HK's version of "the Valley"), Tsim Sha Tsui and the Western district (HKU) in connection with illegal photocopying of books. Customs seized 618 photocopied books, 38 photocopying machines and 8 binding machines.

Under the Copyright Ordinance, the maximum penalty for piracy is 4 years' imprisonment and a $50,000 fine per infringement.

This comes after news of several other highly-publicised raids of CD/VCD/DVD-pirating establishments in recent weeks. Who knows, at this rate, the Government might actually succeed in lowering intellectual property right infringements in the capital of piracy.

Day One
The first official day of PCLL began with a prize-giving ceremony for the class of the previous academic year. UNSW made a strong representation amongst the prize-winners, with Miss Vivian being awarded one for Professional Practice and Virginia coming first out of 380. Congrats to them.

Those who suffered the two induction days were joined today by the rest of the year (those who studied locally, external London LLBs and around 30 "repeaters"). Like the electronic College of Law earlier this year, the PCLL course has just gone under "major" reform and we are the guinea pigs.

The University cut back the number of this year to 320 considerably. The Dean made the same joke in his opening address, as he did two days ago, about how it was the students' perogative, this year, to find a sutiable husband or wife amongst the PCLL-ers, as well as to study hard. Ha ha, not.

After wondering for ages on my class schedule, we were finally given our course timetable for the semester. Thankfully, I don't have many large breaks in between classes, there are many half days, and there are only two weeks in which I have to attend Saturday classes/lectures! Still, unlike those leisurely types at CityU with four, HKU PCLL-ers have at least five days a week.

During the lunch break, I took time to wander down the mountain from the University on Bonham Rd to Queens Road West in Western. The name of the district is more to do with the geographics of the area on the HK island, than its description. Sai Wan is one of the more Eastern-looking areas around - what I imagine Hong Kong was like in the 60s and 70s.

On such a hot, humid and hazy day, it would be absolute insanity to walk back up the "hill". However, I did. Note to anyone: do not pass by the Western wet market during weather like today - the eminating smell from the unrefigerated meat is horrendous!

During the afternoon, everyone headed to their Small Groups (SG), where we were made to introduce each other. We were given bizarre instructions on how to give appropriate feedback (v. grade school-ish, but necessary, I guess). I was "elected" (or rather drawn randomly from a pile of names by my peers) to become the Group's Representative. (No one volunteered and I gave the wonderful idea of picking someone randomly by paper.) Every fortnight, there is a meeting with the Department of Professional Education on how to improve the PCLL program. Hooray for me, not.

Afterwards, there were some painful hours watching demonstrations on how to do legal research on Westlaw, Lexis and HKLII, which was rather obvious. At least the Westlaw demonstrator was cute.

All in all, it wasn't all that terrible. Rather, I think it'll be quite a promising year.

And yes, there is class tomorrow - Professional Practice: English Language Awareness!

Photos
I have uploaded some photos here.

Look closely, there's even one of me...

Changing gears
I am absolutely buggered. Even thought it's only the first day of University, my brain is still in holiday mode. It'll take some time to shift it to first gear. Be warned, I may not sound coherent...

Today, I started the Postgraduate Certificat in Laws (PCLL). Folks who studied law abroad are obligated to attend a two day induction course in Hong Kong law, prior to orientaion and the commencement of classes. A 100 or so students from Australia (around 12 from UNSW), England and so on were crammed into the theatre to hear two excessively long lectures - one on the sources of law in HK (where the Professor sought fit to define "hierachy" in several different ways and bore everyone to sleep) and the other on HK land law (which was surprisingly interesting, as all HK lands, apart from St John's Cathedral, are leaseholds, not freehold land).

A completely moronic thing happened to me, which is quite unsurprising. On Monday, I went over to the bank to pick up my ATM card. Not more than 5 minutes later, while attempting to extract some money from the machine, it swallowed my card. I hadn't even made one transaction! I went back to the teller, to explain my stupid predicament (I couldn't read the Chinese characters on the screen and waited too long before pressing the buttons), before she smiled and gently told me to return after 11, the next day, to retrieve the card. Anyways, I didn't go there on Tuesday, but headed down to Central to retrieve the darn thing today.

I have given up on waiting for a dorm room. Although the previouse plan was to stay at my grandfather's flat for the short-term, he has agreed to let me stay for the next school year. He leaves for Edmonton at the end of September, so I'll be living in a four bedroom place in the "suburbs" of Kowloon.

Since I'll be staying here for a while, I have begun to make my room a bit more "comfortable". I bought a new mattress on the weekend. I've had difficulty sleeping on the current one, as it is as hard as a concrete slab.

The internet company delivered my ADSL modem this evening. By installing the thing myself, I'm saving HK$600. It took me more than an hour and the assistance of a v. patient customer service rep before I got it up and running.

I knew the overheads were going to be big, when I got here, but it seems like so much. I've already handed in my request for the Firm's fee reimbursement and living expenses grant at their Exchange Square office (Think Oliver Twist, but more desparate). But it doesn't seem like I'll get anything out of them anytime soon. I need to buy a full-length mirror and a microwave in the next week...

Still alive
Umm, for does who care, I'm not dead. I've just been quite busy and without internet access. A really long blog to come, I promise.

The course orientation starts on Wednesday. I get broadband installed that evening as well, so the next entry will be in a couple of days.

HK news
Two gay groups - Horizons and the Chi Heng Foundation - won the status of charities, the first of their kind in Asia. (There are a dozen lesbian & gay groups in Honkers, but most are registered as non-government organisations under the Societies Ordinance and enjoy fewer privileges. Charity status means the groups are tax-free and allowed to organise various kinds of fund-raising activities and apply for financial support from the Community Chest and the Jockey Club - the largest philanthropic organisation in HK.)

Just two years ago, the Inland Revenue Department rejectedHorizon's quest for charity status on the grounds that it did not fall under the definition of "charity" and commented that homosexuality was "still a controversial issue".

Horizons runs a phone counselling hotline.

Something to explain Honkongers mad obssession with brand names:

According to the University of Science and Technology's Prof Dilip Soman, Chinese text, unlike English text, represents concepts, "which could explain why Chinese are more brand-conscious. They learn the language the same way as people learn about brands."

Blogging from Central
Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day. It was 32C again, but the humidity dropped off slightly. (A welcome relief!)

I met up with relatives on my mum's side - my grandmother and her brother's family. It appears as though as soon as I arrive in HK, my cousins are ready to leave. I won't see them again until December, as both of them are off to boarding school at Cheltenham (?) in wee ol' England. From what I was told, Cleo is about to do the A-Levels (kind of like the HSC), in a massive 5 subjects, while Stephanie is off to board for the first time. It's generally quite amusing around them, as the elder one has an English accent, while the younger has an American one. Although Stephanie was born and raised in Honkers, she refuses to speak Cantonese. (Which is different from me - I try to limit my Chinese, as I give the unfortunate impression that I'm mentally retarded, when I speak.)

Anyways, after lunch at the Jockey Club, we all headed off to Aberdeen to visit my granddad in hospital. He's had some respiratory problems of late (he has a life-long habit of smoking Marlboros). My mum's dad is definitely one of the coolest guys I know. Even though he's over 80, he's got some v. progressive tastes. (He watches MTV Asia and during the last time I was in HK, he picked up the local gig guides for me.)

Monday was a real stinker. I almost died a most unattractive death - steamed like a Chinese pork bun - in the humidity, while navigating the labrynth that is HKU. I went back to the University to tie up loose ends - I handed in most of the forms I received upon registration, including a tedious postgrad questionnaire (answers you question, CreatineMonster!). I also made out an application for a college dorm accommodation. I'm currently 13th in the waiting list for a room at St John's postgrad wing.

I opened another account - a student one - with even more attractive terms. In terms of banking, Australia is definitely in the Stone Ages.

I hopped on a bus to Causeway Bay (a shopper's paradise or hell, depending on the day) afterwards. Met up with HongKongPhooey and Vivian, who had both arrived from Sydney that morning.

These past few days have been absolutely exhausting. I'm amazed that a week hasn't even gone by yet. It's surprising how productive I am when I don't have the internet and television to wile away my time.

Hong Kong Days
The heat here is incessant... and it's not even a dry heat. For the past couple of days, the temperature has hovered around the 30C mark, without much of a drop off in temperature during the night. The humidity is absolutely oppressive.

I guess it could be worse. The sky is clear, the pollution levels are relatively low and there is not one typhoon to be seen on the weather maps.

For the time being, I'm staying in my dad's old room at my grandfather's place on Prince Edward Road West in Kowloon. Things there are pretty sparse, as my grandfather has moved most things over to his other home in Edmonton, Canada. Fortunately, there still is an air conditioner in the room.

If I am unable to find dorm room accommodation at the University, I'll have to stay at the PERW flat for the forthcoming academic year. If that's the case, I'll have to accept that it'll take more than 50 min to get to and from the University each day on the 103.

After an uncomfortable night's sleep on a rock-hard bed, I headed straight to HKU to register for PCLL on Friday morning. I should have been warned on the number of forms that have to be filled out. Why does everyone second form require passport photos to be attached?

Afterwards, I left the maze-like campus and took the wrong bus down to Central. The 23 weaved around the Mid-Levels, before I decided to get off in front of the Lippo Towers in Admiralty. I decided not the walk in the sticky weather and took the MTR over to Central. I headed over to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) headquarters and opened an savings account. It took 15 minutes to find the correct floor and desk area. It took 2 minutes to open the account.

The bank clerk was so amazed at my reaction when he told me that the number of ATM and over-the-counter transactions was unlimited, bar the HK$20,000 withdrawal cap per day. If only banks in Australia worked in the same way!

It was lunchtime by the time I left the Bank. Office workers were beginning to amass around the Statue Square, so I decided to make a quick getaway after taking a few photos of various architectural landmarks around Central. (I shall atmpt to upload these, later.) I took the MTR over to Kowloon Tong as I thought the crowds at the Festival Walk mall would be smaller. Well, I got that wrong. Nevertheles, I spent a couple of hours wandering the stores, not at all tempted to buy a thing. (OK, I actually bought something - sports socks, but I needed those.)

I thought I'ld waste a couple more hours, so a bought a ticket to Austin Powers in Goldmember. (More of the same jokes, really base humour, paper-thin plot - more like a whole lot of sketches tie awkwardly together, amazing cameos. Thoroughly enjoyed it!)

Well, that was a blow-by-blow account of my first full day in Honkers. I could tell you what I did today, but I think that would seriously damage some folks' mental health. Plus, I do want to retain some readership...

A little entertainment tidbit: according to the South China Morning Post, Brett Ratner, the director of Rush Hour, is planning to make a feature length film with Hong Kong's most recognised foreign ambassabor. No, not Suzie Wong, but the janitor/super hero, Hong Kong Phooey.

By the way, there's good advice given to new arrivals in Honkers by the Big White Guy.

Things to take note of:

• Italian-made lemon lime Gatorade tastes funky. Do not buy again.
  
• Five spices beef noodles from Maxim's is nasty. Not worth it, even if it's only 20 bucks.
  
• Advertisements for slimming products/services are everywhere. Ignore.
  
• Continue to consume Yakult and yoghurt, on a daily basis, to fortify the good bacteria levels in the gut. Do not wish to experience those two hellish weeks in December ever again.

University of Hong Kong
I forgot to mention a couple of days ago that I have finally received news of my acceptance into the PCLL program at HKU. About time, methink!

This news comes in the nick of time, as registration ends next Monday. I'm suppose to pay the fees for Fall semester as well - more than HK$20, 000. Even though the Firm is prepared to reimburse the amount to me in the future, the University wants to hash out that amount of money with less than a weeks notice!

In related news, I heard from the College of my choice that they are fully occupied for the forthcoming semester! Where am I going to live now?

HKU is evil!

Singapore
Hello there. Thought you wouldn't hear from me so soon, right?

Well, I'm in transit in Singapore at the moment, waiting for my connecting flight to Hong Kong.

The flight from Sydney was v. much as expected - pleasant, yet terribly boring. The choice of movies was quite typical (Spiderman, Scorpion King, etc). I chose a really great film that I highly recommend - My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It's absolutely hilarious. Oh, and I saw X-Men again, on their "Past Hits" channel.

About the flight itself, the SQ flight attendants were friendly, efficient and immaculately groomed as usual. I refrained myself from asking the stewardesses on their hairstyling tips. (After a six-hour flight, their hair always remains in the exact shape as when you board the craft.)

So, I'm here sitting at an internet terminal for S$8 an hour. I have two hours to spend, mulling around the airport, before the Hong Kong flight departs. The people who espouse the fabulousness of Changi Airport clearly did not refer to the airport's Terminal Two. Apart from the fact that there is nothing much to do, there seems to be v. little of the type of action that airports are generally notorious for - cruising.

Ce matin
I've had six hours of sleep. Yet strangely, I feel more tired now than when I went to bed.

I'm off.

Last day
I am so beat. I have been running around the place like a headless chicken. There has been so many things to do. As per usual, I left until the last moment to do them. Fortunately, I took some time-out and spent much of the afternoon in the Botanical Gardens, the Opera House foreshore and Circular Quay, simply admiring the view, loving the brilliant weather and taking in the fresh air.

It's getting quite late now. I really have no idea why I am still awake. I'm bloody exhausted, after packing and repacking my luggage over five times this evening. (I've taken half the items out of my bags to limit the load to 34kgs.)

Okay, I'm forcing myself to go to bed now. I am flying off at 8:20am, so it means I'll have to wake up in six hours time. Keith needs his beauty sleep and he definitely needs all the help that he can get in that department!

Fashion
It is official. I have become a tragic victim of the fashion industry. Please take away my wallet and all those magazines.

With my last remaining Aussie dollars (which is worth as much and is as colourful as Monopoly money), I purchased my first piece of prêt-à-porter apparel. Nothing to big, just something distinct and tasteful. Nevertheless, brace yourself for I shall tell you how much I spent...

For a whopping $415, I bought a white, sleeve-less T-Shirt by DSquared. (The designers, Dean and Dan Caten, designed the Western-themed component of Madonna's Drowned World Tour.) The piece is covered with "bullet holes", diamantes and studs for punkish effect. It's an absolutely rockin' design and has an awesome cut, even though it is from their Fall/Winter '01 collection. (Does that make it "vintage"?)

How can I justify the purchase? (I wouldn't even dare mentioning it to my parents. They'ld go ballistic.) I cannot call it temporary insanity, because it was premeditated for over a week. Maybe if I was to be molested on the dance floor (Is that a song?), then the shirt would have paid for itself?

Fortunately for me and my feeble finances, I only discovered the store in Sydney that sold DSquared a couple of weeks ago. Who knows, if I had found out earlier, I would probably be in v. deep trouble now.

iTunes
I started importing music into iTunes. I thought it would be smart to copy some of the music I regularly listen to into MP3s on my laptop, instead of hauling a load of CDs overseas with me in my luggage.

Hours later and a mere 147 songs imported, catalogued and labelled, I am starting to regret that decision.

Like them apples
As soon as I laid eyes on her, sitting quietly across the room, I knew it was love at first sight. As those old clichés go, I was struck by a bolt of lightning; hit straight in the heart by Cupid's arrow.

Simply one look at her would tell you why. With her flawless, porcelain skin, exquisite features, amazingly compact frame and bright, friendly face, iMogen is absolutely and undeniably stunning. It is no surprising then that people often unconsciously stare, passers-by always take a second glance.

Nevertheless, her physical beauty is only a pale reflection of the beauty that lies within. I love her mind. She is more than completely accepting of my queer tendencies; she encourages it. She shares my interests and tastes, including my silly obssession with Gabriel Aubry and my eternal devotion to Mrs Ritchie.

I never knew switching sides could ever come so easily or this naturally.

It's early days yet, but somehow, I know this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

Madonna

Happy Birthday, Madonna! You're a bloody legend!

Degrassi
I caught the second episode of Degrassi yesterday afternoon. The series takes off with Emma (yes, the baby Spike had during the original series!) and her pals in the new Degrassi School. It was surprising to see how young they all are (actual 12 year olds playing 12 year olds) and to realise that the original series began with a cast of similarly aged actors. It was fun to see cast members of the original, Spike, Snake, Caitlin, Joey Jeremiah and Lucy at their 10 year high school reunion.

In great Degrassi tradition, they headed straight for the "issues" jugular, with the episode about sexual predators on the internet! However, I felt it was unnecessary and somewhat condescending to the young viewing audience for the ABC to use a spokesperson to introduce and conclude the show with a "serious message". Like, whatever...

Switching
It seems all I do these days is wait.

I still haven't heard anything about the status of my application to the University of Hong Kong. I've started to hassle them via email. Apparently, it's hardly unusual not to hear from the Administration until the week before semester begins, so I am not too worried about the whole thing yet. Nevertheless, it's an incredible hassle, knowing I'ld have less time to prepare for classes and organise dorm-room accommodation before the semester begins.

I placed an order for a sexy lil' iBook last Tueday (not the 13th, but the 6th!). I am still waiting for them to call me so I can pick it up.

Upcoming movies
Here are two films I am dying to see:

According to Dark Horizons and Hollywood Reporter, Wolfgang Petersen has delayed production of Batman Vs. Superman in order to make a Gladiator-inspired epic of the Greek siege of Troy, titled... um, Troy.

Have you seen the posters for the Roger Avary-directed Rules of Attraction (based on Brett Easton Ellis' book and starring everyone's favourite Creek-dweller, James Van Der Beek)? What's the term for people who have soft toy fetishes? Plushies?

Countdown
HongKongPhooey has kindly written me a javascript countdown clock. Unfortunately, I have not been able to align it properly and it is currently placed in an awkward position underneath the title.

Anyway, there is only eight days to go until I fly off.

Those feelings of fear and dread that I was previously experiencing have naturally dissipated. I'm now quitely excited about the move and the prospect of things. (This is a big contrast to the emotions I felt prior to leaving Sydney for that year abroad at Chapel Hill. I remember how I was unable to sleep for days, completely ecstatic and giddy with excitement, day dreaming of all the potential adventures... I was so fearless and naive then, compared to the jaded and cynical version people see today.)

I've made a firm decision on limiting the amount I'll be taking with me - two pieces of luggage on the plane, with a third suitcase to follow (taken by my uncle in a month's time). I've even decided not to make any parcel shipments. It amazes me how two other fellow "expats" have decided to hire an entire shipping container for their personal belongings. All I'm taking with me are clothes, a stock of medical supplies (with the sky-high cost of analgesics over there, it's better to take your own), the odd book of two and my childhood Care Bear^TM (a Wish Bear that has almost been loved to death).