Sandy's life as a small potato in Hong Kong (May, 2003)

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

May 1, 2003 (Thur)

Looking forward to going to work??

It was the last day of my annual leave.  Looking back, I didn't think I had made the best use of my long-awaiting holiday. I was just like a pig, sleeping, eating, sleeping (and occasionally watching TV or surfing the Internet)... I was not motivated to do any housework and I just watched my dad cleaning the floor. Every night when I went to bed, I told myself I'd work hard the next day, doing this and doing that. Then every day when I got up, I told myself I'd start working on my homepage or reading after having my breakfast; but I just kept telling myself I'd do this and do that without actually taking any action - so the breakfast was taken, then the newspaper was read, email was checked, replies were made to my friends, and even TV news and programmes I liked were watched, but still I was lying on the sofa. Then, time to have a nap in the afternoon! So, another 2 or 3 hours were gone before dinner was served and I was still on the sofa, watching those TV drama series, be they my favourite or not... the clock ticked at 12 a.m. nd I jumped to my lovely bed soon after having my shower. That was a day for the laziest person in the world!

So, although I would love to have more holiday, I think it's better for me to go to work or I'd end up being a robot pig, doing the same things at home again and again every day and I'm afraid by then my mom would drive this pig out of her home!

May 2, 2003 (Fri)

Back to work

Back to work. It was Friday and so although I said I couldn't wait to go to work after a six-day holiday, I was still in a holiday mood and thought about what I could do in the weekend.

May 4, 2003 (Sun)

Manutd was the champion...

Oh! Manchester United is the Champions of the English Premiership this season!!

May 5, 2003 (Mon)

'Automatic' half-day off?

The rainstorm red warning was hoisted this morning. The rain wasn't very heavy in my district but in my mind a voice seemed to be saying 'the rainstorm black warning has been hoisted and you don't need to risk your life by going to work today'! I am a good follower (depending on the situations, of course) and so I stayed at home until noon when I found the red warning had been lifted and the weather didn't look so bad outside. I thought I gotta be a good worker and so I put on my jeans and headed back to the office.

May 9, 2003 (Fri)

Hunger virus

Attention!! Attention!! A strong invisible hunger virus was attacking two lovely girls today, who got infected on a food exploratory trip in the nearby shopping centre for their colleagues. They had a mission to collect information about two restaurants such as their price and the number of customers during lunchtime. Finally they decided to have lunch in the campus as they had done previously. Perhaps it was a punishment for them for not choosing to dine in either one of the two restaurants. They both felt very hungry in the afternoon although they had already had their lunch. One biscuit after one biscuit...

These two girls seemed to be in bad luck today. After the hunger virus, something bad happened. First one of them met her supervisor at an inappropriate time, which made her very embarrassed.  Then she accidentally broke her friend's bracelet when she wanted to have a closer look at it.

May 10, 2003 (Sat)

A bad daughter!

Today was a day before the Mother's Day but my family celebrated it in advance at a Chinese restaurant. I admit that I'm not a good daughter in that I don't often give presents to my mom on those occasions like her birthday and Mother's Day. I do feel guilty and hope one day I can compensate for it...

May 15, 2003 (Thur)

Human Proofreading machine

Got a new nickname as 'human proofreading machine' when I proofread my friend's essay.

May 21, 2003 (Wed)

A 'professional' sales?!

I'm not a customer easy to be pleased and usually people need to try very hard to persuade me to buy something. I'd say a sales guy whom I met in a sports shop would have a bright future as he successfully persuade me to buy a pair of sports shoes. Of course if I weren't interested in the shoes, I wouldn't buy them, however hard he tried. But I think being a sales, like other professions, requires certain skills and I knew in the very beginning that I wouldn't make a good sales woman and so I'd rather put my efforts into being a hardworking (?!) researcher.

May 22, 2003 (Thur)

Everybody's on a high...

Interestingly my colleagues were quite excited today. Maybe because tomorrow a colleague of ours was getting married?

May 23, 2003 (Fri)

A happy moment for the people in our office...

Today was the birthday of a friend of mine.  I called her at lunch time to say ‘Happy Birthday To You’ to her.  I remember her saying it had been a long time since she celebrated her birthday.  Is it true that the older we get, the less enthusiastic we are about our birthday?  How about those Chinese elderly who have 60^th, 70^th or 80^th birthday celebration prepared by their offbrings?  Or, is it an occasion just for getting what you want to get with others paying for you?

It was also the marriage registration day for one of my colleagues.  People in my office have already gone for their registration now (now’s almost 4p.m., the exact time for the registration) and there’re only a few of us still sitting and working hard in the office.  They all look so excited, discussing each other’s dressing “Oh, you look so great!”  “Have you got your weight loss (in order to fit into this dress)?”  “Where did you get this dress?”  People were already on a high since around Wednesday and Thursday.

Her wedding banquet was held in a western style. Each of us was served with a dinner set which we had ordered in advance. I don't think I attended a wedding banquet in such a style. Usually people do it in the Chinese tradition. There are advantages and disadvantages for this style and some people may prefer it to the Chinese style. It really depends on one's needs and preference. If I could choose, I'd choose not to have any banquet or just dinner with family and a few close friends, especially after I saw how my family had been preparing for my elder brother's wedding...

My mom must right now be busy preparing for tomorrow’s wedding – cleaning, sorting out the stuff, tidying up the whole flat, getting everything needed for the procedure ready, etc.  I doubt if anyone will pay attention to me tomorrow as my role, besides being the bridegroom’s younger sister, is still not clear at the moment.  I don’t have to participate in any sort of ‘brothers’ crew or ‘sister’s crew (and I don’t think I know any one of my brother’s friends nor the friends of my sister-in-law-to-be!).  To be honest, I don’t feel excited about their wedding and instead I feel a bit nervous and anxious about what I’m wearing tomorrow – a newly bought skirt or a pair of trousers?  Almost everyone’s telling me to choose the former but I wonder if I’ll look unnatural or awkward wearing something that I’m not used to!

May 24, 2003 (Sat)

A Big Day for my elder brother and my brother-in-law

Today was definitely the happiest day for my elder brother and my sister-in-law, and even my parents, who were so happy that, as a Chinese saying goes, people can only see their teeth but not their eyes as they smile' so much!'

Last night, I went to bed before watching my dad comb my elder brother's hair as one of the Chinese traditions. I was, however, the last one to get up the next day. The whole family had to wake up at 6a.m. as the marriage registration would be taking place at around 11 a.m. I got myself dress up with my newly bought dress and top and put on a pair of high-heeled shoes which I hadn't worn for years. The brothers' crew and sisters' crew arrived at our flat before 8 a.m. and I was an observer in the whole process.  Then we attended their marriage registration, took photos with the newly wed, had lunch in the Chinese restaurant where the wedding banquet would be held in the evening. Then we had a break before the banquet started. I went back to the office, which was so close to the Chinese restaurant, spending my time checking email...

I was satisfied with my role as a 'moving background' and was called upon whenever family photos were taken. Some of the guests were my mom's friends and the couple's friends. I could only sit to get ready for the dinner...

As my elder brother and my sister-in-law work in a local TV station, their colleagues prepared some games for them while we were enjoying our dinner. Finally, the banquet was over!

May 25, 2003 (Sun)

After my elder brother's wedding...

My eye lids were out of control. I was so tired that I almost fell asleep when talking with my friend. 

May 26, 2003 (Mon)

Be strong

My experience this evening tells me sometimes we have to be strong and speak out, especially when we fight for our rights. 

1) When I arrived at Marks & Spencer to buy some foodstuff, it was closing as the opening hours were till 8:30p.m. But I asked the sales lady to let me in and told her I'd only a few minutes to buy some foodstuff. I was successful.

2) Then I went to a local shop where I had bought my computer to exchange for a mouse that was a free gift for the computer. At first the sales didn't find any problem with my mouse; I waited and finally the problem with the mouse was shown; then the sales insisted there was nothing they could do about it and told me to contact the manufacturer by myself. I was already quite tired after a long working day. I showed him my dissatisfaction with my facial expression and said they had responsibilities to exchange for a new mouse for me... Finally the sales surrendered and gave me a new mouse.

3) My last stop was a computer shop where I bought some cables. If I hadn't made a bargain, I probably would have missed out on a chance to save $2.

This page was last updated on Saturday, 18 October 2003.

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