Parrot.

As I’m writing, I’m sitting inside my office with a mask on. I’ve been struck down with the flu and apparently even after taking the medication dispensed by my doctor it still wouldn’t go away. My doc gave me a total of 7 different types of medication, and that idea alone is enough to make me double sick. Is this some kind of superflu or something?

Anyway Mum was in town over the weekend for Cousin Florence’s wedding. Apart from the wedding day itself, I also had the chance to bring her around for some good food in Hong Kong. In addition, we also took a day off to Macau, and it’s actually quite amazing to think that she’s never been to Macau even though it’s almost like next door. But then again, I didn’t have my first visit to Macau until October last year, so I guess sometimes when these places are near you, you won’t really make the effort to visit them, knowing that they probably would not go away. Anyway I’ve uploaded some pictures of this trip to Macau on my Facebook page, so if you are interested please go see it on Facebook. I guess I shan’t double post.

I’m thinking if I should get one of those electronic Japanese dictionaries, given that I’m learning Japanese again. But then I didn’t have one when I did Japanese in university, so it would appear weird if I were to get one now. But then, if I don’t have a dictionary, how would I be able to learn Japanese well? Or perhaps for a start, I could get one that’s as thick as the Yellow Pages and see how it goes first. Haha.

Winter is settling in again after a few days of near-summer temperatures. It wasn’t fun when I was walking around Macau and the temperature there was 25 degrees even when it’s late in November.

Anyway my doc just called me to ask if the medication was working. The answer is of course no as I’m feeling as weak as ever, but this is the first time that a doctor calls me to check how I’m doing. That’s what I call good customer service. Haha.

People.

I believe that not everyone in this world would be someone that you like to be hanging around with. Sometimes there are some people that irk me so much that I wish there would be some demons out there that would swallow these people up.

1. People who think that I’m stupid
There are some people out there whom I really think are not really that bright, which is fine as long as they don’t assume everyone out there is like them. I’ve come across so many people who really think they can fake their way through with me, thinking that I’m dumb and have no idea what they are up to. I dare not say I know a lot, but I’ve seen enough to differentiate between someone who’s really very smart and someone who’s not.

2. People who are not clear with what they want
Usually I’m fine with people giving me no real clear instructions on what to do, provided they don’t come back and tell me what I’ve done is not what they want. I mean, if you come and tell me that “that’s not what I expected” then why don’t you for god’s sake tell me what you were expecting right from the start? It feels almost like trying to strike a lottery – I have to guess what the winning number is, and if I strike it then bingo, but if I don’t the joker would come tell me “thank you and please try again”. Really, if I really would want to win the lottery I would have visited the Jockey Club.

3. People who stick to me even though signals are clear that I don’t want them near me
There are some people out there who would try to come near me with the hope of trying to get some good perks from me. I don’t mind helping others, but when the one requesting the help becomes dependent on me, that’s what that freaks me out. It’s OK to be helping others once in a while, but when it become regular, that’s when I have some reservations about. Do I exist to let others take advantage of me?

4. People who are immature
Perhaps you might ask, how do I define immature? For me, an immature person is someone who has no idea what the world is all about. People who complain about having to work overtime and not given additional allowances; people who believe that Hong Kong would become a better place if they vote some banana-throwing thugs into the legislative council; or people who think that engaging in a relationship means getting a girlfriend and then put her one side claiming that he’s too busy – these people are all immature in my opinion. There’s a difference between naive and immature in my opinion. I think naive is someone who truly has no idea and can be changed by education, but immaturity is more a by-choice thing, meaning that the person chooses to be ignorant of what’s going on out there.

5. People who put their friends aside after they no longer become value-adding to them
There are some people who would be oh so friends with you, but once they become “successful” (note the quotes – it’s a sign of sarcasm in case you don’t realise) they would forget these friends. That’s because they’ve got to know new friends who would allow them to be even more successful, while these old friends are no longer of value to them. The way some of these people behave absolutely irks me.

There should be more of such people, perhaps I’ll find time in the future to write about them. Haha.

Alumni.

For one reaason or another I’ve suddenly become the coordinator for the NUS-HK Alumni Dinner in December. It was a bit strange considering that I only started out as suggesting a few restaurants for the Dinner to be held, and all of a sudden I became the go-to man for the Dinner. Strange.

Finally this week the weather has turned for the cooler – it was hovering around 20 degrees for the past few days, but today suddenly it became warm again. I didn’t have to wear a jacket to go out, which definitely wasn’t fun. I don’t want spring to come this early!

Would be going for my Japanese class later – hope it would be fun. The first one last week was actually quite good, so I hope for something similar today.

November.

We are into a new month again, and for the past week, I think I must have been very busy. I can’t really remember all the things that I’ve done, so I presume I must be very busy.

Anyway the highlight of the week has to be going for my Japanese lessons! Finally after 4 years of not touching Japanese in a classroom setting, I was going to begin to learn Japanese again. Of course, learning Japanese as a university student and as a working adult is very different. But I guess the whole experience so far after one lesson here in Hong Kong has been good. To an extent, I think I could learn much more having these Japanese classes in Hong Kong than my failed attempt in learning Spanish in Shanghai. Initially I was thinking if I should be going for those Japanese classes taught by native Japanese speakers – which of course is a great idea – but considering that I might have problem understanding them, I chose to go for those taught by local Japanese instructors. And I think that is much more comfortable for me. Of course I would still want to go for those courses conducted by Japanese instructors in the future, but that would only be when I’ve become significantly proficient in the language. That day shall come!

The University is having the Commencement ceremonies for these few days, and again, I feel very excited for the graduates. But I do think that time flew past very quickly – this is the second Commencement that I’ve witnessed since coming into this job last September!