San San's diary (Dec, 2003)

Just click on any of the following underlined dates and you can get to know what's going on with me that day.

Dec 1, 2003 (Mon)

Hong Kong people

Still struggling with the handout for my presentation.  But I started getting fed up with it.  I tried to boost myself by thinking about what to do after my presentation.  I wish the Wednesday night will soon be coming...

Dec 3, 2003 (Wed)

Presentation

Finally the presentation was over and I felt relieved after that. Things were not going smoothly in the beginning. I tried to make photocopies of the handout but the photocopier of the department was OUT OF ORDER. I went to the departmental library where there was another photocopier but I found I forgot to bring with me the PASSWORD and a soft copy of my handout.  I went back home to get the password and the soft copy. I tried the photocopier again but found there was NO PAPER. So I went to the departmental office to get some spare paper. But it was not enough and so I got back to the photocopier room to get more paper later.

The presentation lasted for almost three hours, which wasn't what I expected and I was not aware of how fast time passed.  I didn't finish my presentation but it was considered successful by initiating a discussion among my classmates on the examples that I showed to them. I think I could have performed better in the presentation since I was so nervous and I don't think I expressed myself well in English but anyway, my aim of motivating my classmates to speak was achieved and so maybe I should feel satisfied.

Dec 4, 2003 (Thur)

Aftermath of the presentation

I didn't feel like doing anything after my presentation last night.  I did nothing for the whole day. Just did my shopping in the supermarket, went to a local Chinese community centre to meet one of the staff there and took some pics in the city centre. The X'mas atmosphere was filled everywhere with lots of shoppers around. An European Christmas market was available in the city centre. The weather was also getting colder. I received my first X'mas card on Tuesday. What will my Christmas be like?!

Dec 7, 2003 (Sun)

Am I in HK?

Everything was about Cantonese today. I had three phone calls today from my friends from HK and called parents later in the afternoon. In the evening, I listened to a radio programme by a HK radio station. Throughout the day, I surfed some Chinese websites. It didn't make much difference whether I was in the UK or in HK...

Dec 8, 2003 (Mon)

Volunteer work

It was the first day of my volunteer work. I had promised to work as a volunteer for a local Chinese community centre every Monday afternoon. My first task was to deal with some survey data for a report to be presented in March. It sounded familiar to me as I have always been dealing with survey data for both my work and study. I was told that I could get subsidies for transport and lunch but I don't think they would be of use to me since I preferred walking back home (for 15 - 20 minutes) and I think I'd rather have my lunch at home and the money could be used to help people in need, though it was tempting to use that 5-pound lunch subsidy to buy a nice lunchbox at the China Town...

I was almost tempted to give up going to the Chinese community centre when my friend called me from HK to have a chat.

Dec 10, 2003 (Wed)

Feeling blue

I wonder if it is normal for a research student to feel ups and downs. I felt sad and unhappy after a meeting with my supervisor, who said my essay was too short! From time to time I have a thought of giving up, though I don't think I'll really do that since I've already started the course and there is no going back.

I got a parcel today from a friend of mine. I didn't know until today that I had to check a list of those who need collecting parcels and registered mail. The parcel included a nice 'luck bag' sent by my friend, who had just gone to South Korea for a conference. I hope the 'luck bag' will really give me some luck. I am concerned about my friend coz she told me in her email that she wasn't well with her health. Hope she'll be fine.

As I had to wait to collect my parcel, I was late for the seminar meeting in the afternoon and I missed a chance to select a good date for my presentation in the second semester. So, instead of late April, my preferred choice, I will have to make a presentation in early March...

Dec 11, 2003 (Thur)

Good or bad luck?!

Has the 'luck bag' that my friend sent to me worked? I don't know...

Good luck - I have been given a temporary part-time job for six hours by my classmate who has gone travelling. I just need to sit in a student resources room for three hours in the morning today and next Thursday and I can earn some pocket money. It sounds a nice job but it was really boring to sit there. Maybe it is a good chance for me to do some readings for my study.

Bad luck - When I was waiting to cross a road this early morning, a car drove very quickly in front of me and some dirty water as a result of a bad rainy weather spilled onto my body and I had to wait until I finished my job at the student resource centre to have a shower.

Good luck or bad luck? - I met a nice man from the accommodation reception who promised to help check if I got another mail to be collected, since I was waiting anxiously for a letter sent by my former colleague.

Bad luck? - Pounds keep appreciating...

Dec 14, 2003 (Sun)

The man finally got arrested

The biggest news of today was the arrest of Saddam. Does it mean the world will be at peace?

Dec 15, 2003 (Mon)

Busy struggling

Busy... with the transcription (boring) work, with my volunteer work in the afternoon, with money exchange and transfer and with my writing to be submitted to my supervisor before I can enjoy my Christmas holiday...

The weather's getting colder and colder...

Dec 16, 2003 (Tue)

Two different talks

I went to two different kinds of talks today.

The first one was about 'advocacy' by people from the Family Rights Group. A staff whom I help as a volunteer invited me to the talk and I think it is of no harm to me and I can earn free lunch after the talk (hehe!!), although I don't think I'll be working in the social services industry in the future. The talk was okay and I took it as a chance to practise listening to English. The lunch was not a very great one as there were only some sandwiches and fruit. But it was healthy.

The second one was the weekly departmental seminar. Today's was the last one for this semester. I thought it might be of use to my study but it turned out that, I fell asleep! I don't know if it is because I was so tired or because the talk was really boring.

Dec 17, 2003 (Wed)

My Christmas holiday started

Finally my so-called holiday started, after I had submitted an essay that I had been struggling with over the past two weeks. Again the comment of my supervisor on it was 'still too short'. I can imagine how terrible the feedback will be when he finishes reading my essay but I don't want to think about it at the moment; I just want to enjoy a short break first. I had a short chat with my classmate, had a conversation in English with my Cantonese-speaking friend who called from HK and took a two-hour nap in the afternoon.

Dec 18, 2003 (Thur)

Christmas atmosphere

Got another busy morning. I went to the supermarket very early and then worked for another three hours in the student resource centre. It was boring but looking at people going in and out and making photocopies made me feel like time passed quickly. Then I went back home happily and waited for a call from a friend of mine who is coming to Manchester from London. The Manchester Piccadilly station has now turned into a modern train station with renovated buildings. I took a few pictures of it and then we went to the city centre and had a chat in a food court. The city centre was full of people. Since it was Thursday night and Christmas was coming, we could still find loads of people around after 6p.m. The film tickets for 'Lord of the Rings III: The Return of the King' for shows before 9p.m. were sold out too. These days some students went travelling or went back to their home countries for X'mas. Suddenly I wanted to go back to HK or do something special to celebrate this Christmas...

Dec 21, 2003 (Sun)

TV addict

The Internet makes me feel like I'm in HK since I can download some TV dramas to watch. I finished watching a 11-episode of a TVB drama when the clock ticked at 5:30a.m. on Monday morning. I'm afraid I'll become TV addicted this Christmas as I'm going to watch another TVB drama which will have 40 episodes...

I got a free lunch at a Chinese restaurant with some people from the local Chinese community centre where I work as a volunteer. It can be considered as a celebration for X'mas. When dim sun like BBQ pork bun, rice with BBQ pork, shrimp dumplings, fried rice, fried noodles, and so on were put on our table, my eyes were sparkling and I couldn't wait to have a bite of them! Chinese food is always the best!!

Dec 22, 2003 (Mon)

Winter Solstice

I almost forgot that today was the winter solstice. But it didn't matter since I don't think I'll do anything to celebrate it as HK people do by having a reunion dinner.

But I still feel happy as I got two parcels today. One was sent by a best friend of mine. It was a good-looking scarf and it came at a right time when the weather was so cold these days. Ha, the presents given by this friend of mine were always very useful; in one Christmas she sent me a pair of gloves and now I still wear them when going out. The other present was sent by a British friend of mine. I did feel surprised and I felt guilty when I received it and I felt she was too nice to me, who hasn't given her anything in return. Her present is also useful too - a 2004 diary. Maybe she's trying to remind me to work harder in 2004 or my diary will be blank!

Dec 23, 2003 (Tue)

Pre-Christmas Eve

It was a busy pre-Christmas Eve day for me. I went to the supermarket with my flatmate for some foodstuff for this Christmas since all shops will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. There were already lots of people in the supermarket when we got there at around 10a.m. and there was a traffic congestion of trolleys there. Then we went to a cinema at the city centre to watch 'Lord of the Ring III: The Return of the King'. 'Lord of the Ring' is my favourite film and I like 'Lord of the Ring II" too but the last of the series of the film was a bit disappointing. Within my expectation, there were many more people than usual watching films these days.

In the evening, my friend who has come to Manchester from London came to my place to stay for one night before she was going back to London the next day by train. We had a nice chat and I tried to burn some CD-R of TV dramas for her overnight.

Dec 24, 2003 (Wed)

Living like a pig

It was a quiet Christmas Eve for me. I slept the whole day long, since I hadn't slept much the previous night. Whenever I woke up, I got something to eat. At noon, having slept for three hours, I had some biscuits for lunch. Then I tried to send some e-cards to friends in the last minute but before I finished, the Internet access was blocked. So I went to bed again and slept for another few hours, even though a flatmate of mine invited me to a chat with her and her classmates in the kitchen. When I woke up, it was dinner time and I had a slice of raspberry cheesecake (yummy yummy) while watching the 'Infernal Affairs II' and then a TVB drama cast by Francis Ng Chun Yue. Before midnight, I went to bed again...

Dec 25, 2003 (Thur)

What?! No Internet access!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The flat was extremely quiet these two days. Some of my flatmates have gone to London or to their friends' houses. There were only me and another flatmate of mine in the flat. Initially I thought it wouldn't be a boring and lonely Christmas for me since I could download films and TV dramas from the Internet and I was quite sure then that I would be so busy watching them. But my plan has to change because of a problem with the access to the Internet. I even have finished watching all the films that I have at my computer. What can I do?  Sleeping and eating again...

Dec 26, 2003 (Fri)

A quiet Lunar birthday

It was a quiet lunar birthday of mine...

This page  was last updated on Friday, 26 December 2003.

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