Day 27: Stable Contracts

I have finally managed to secure a stable job; I'll be teaching language and folk-theatre to little kiddies, which honestly is not something I would want to do in the ideal world, but I'm happy enough that I've managed to get the job considering the current economic situation for theatre companies. The job comes with a fair amount of perks, as well as a shiny and a fancy office in the building pictured here. Plus, it's good for my resume!

Besides that, I'm still doing freelance work for a Colombian magazine that printed my photos a few months ago and possibly have a chance to work with Nathan Welton (photojournalist) when he comes to Hong Kong.

Today's Flickr Uploads: Dead Food at Cheung Chau

Day 26: At Camp!

Today, I went to set up camp in Lantau. The weather was quite perfect for the hike that started the day, but it did get very cold by the end of the night, but still it was a very good day that involved us getting lost for the entirety of the hike, ending up at a gorgeous beach where there was a noose hanging on a tree, being attacked by adorable dogs that wouldn't stop following me and sitting on my feet, having a huge meal, getting lost in the dark on our way back to the campsite, trying to burn the campsite down by making a makeshift fire, burning my finger in the process, more eating, talking to random outdoor activity coordinators, speculating whether the king cobras in the region would be in our tents, running around like we were in the Blair Witch Project and eventually knocking off to sleep until we woke up to cook nasty noodles and hiking back to the pier where we ate McDonald's instead!

Here's a couple random photos including (from left to right) the gorgeous sunset at the beach, me with one of the cuddly dogs, tents (after destroying one of them), and our Blair Witch fire.

Day 25: Northern Winds

I love living in the west; the sunsets are so beautiful here and the atmosphere hardly ever feels polluted. There are also not many tall buildings around here to block the heavy northerly winds and in general, it is quiet (save for the horrible construction work in my building).

Day 24: The Deathbed of a Day

It was the cooling hour, just when the rounded
Red sun sinks down behind the azure hill,
Which then seems as if the whole earth is bounded,
Circling all nature, hush'd, and dim, and still,
With the far mountain-crescent half surrounded
On one side, and the deep sea calm and chill
Upon the other, and the rosy sky
With one star sparkling through it like an eye.

-Don Juan, Lord (George Gordon Noel) Byron

Today's Flickr Uploads: Docked in Cheung Chau

Day 23: Whence He Came

I didn't really get up to all that much today, but it was all good in the end and I'm glad to say that I'm in quite a positive mood... Looks like that awful mood-inducing injection from last week is finally wearing off!

Taking my good-ish mood with me though, I went back to the HK Academy for Performing Arts (pictured) to get transcripts and reference letters sorted for my university applications. It's funny though because as long a time as I spent at the Academy, and even though I can still navigate very well through it's incredibly confusing labyrinth of an interior, I still felt very distant from it. The first thing I thought about when this came to mind was how it must have felt for some people to be cut away from their dæmon (His Dark Materials), only not as traumatic. I know, I know...that's taking it too far, but it's just that despite how much I bitched and moaned while I was at the Academy, I really did enjoy my studies there and it's what I did there that's given me a clearer light into what I want to pursue as a future career. And the day I walked down the stage in my hideous purple academic regalia, I really did feel a pang in my heart because I would have to give up something familiar...something that had, dare I say it, become a part of me.

But anyway, it was really nice to go back and see some familiar faces and talk to some of my lecturers (who I adore, honestly). I find it hilarious that I never could be as open with the students at the Academy as I was with the lecturers. Then again, a lot of students there had the maturity level of an ant in a tutu. Long story short, I had an excellent visit there.

Later when I got home, I decided I was in the mood to cook, so I made Singaporean chicken curry, some fish fillets, baked some bread in my tiny oven and made some yummy vegetable soup. I love cooking! Just wish I had an oven that was bigger than a shoebox...literally!

Today's Flickr Uploads: Rocky Shores at Cheung Chau

Day 22: Nothing to the Effect of Anything

Today, I did nothing of consequence except take an incredibly long, but involuntary nap (drowsy medication), watch a bit of TV and play with the pets. I tried to take Pogo out for a walk, but half way through I got so tired (again, because of the meds) that I decided to turn back, but not before buying some envelopes! How exciting! Well at least they are eco-friendly envelopes. Woo...

While on my walk with Pogo though, I thought I would add to the talks about the apartment-building-construction-series by proving my point about feeling like I'm living in a concentration camp. Remember the barbed wire I talked about on Day 3 of this blog? Well here is a photo I took of it. Thankfully it's being taken down now, but who knows what they'll do next.

In slightly more interesting news, I just saw this list about pet-calendars that I thought were adorable (minus the one with images of dog poo). I want the proverbial cat one!

Tomorrow, I will embark on my one-week university application preparation, which will hopefully give me enough time to mail the materials to the colleges next week. I have also decided to completely redecorate my apartment just to be annoying to my pets because it resembles a pigsty right now...only pigsties are cleaner and classier.

Today's Flickr Uploads: Sad Cats of Cheung Chau

I saw these two kittens wandering around the urban trail on the island. One of them looked so injured and sad. I wish I could have brought them home and honestly, it took me a lot to say no to myself for doing just that. If I had my way, I would buy a thousand acre land and open a pet-rescue centre.

Day 21: Inner Peace, Outer Pain

I know I say this every week, but I love walking. With all the transfusion therapy that I'm going through these days that leaves my moods in hell and keeps me nauseous, walks are just what I need I think. The fresh air and the gorgeous scenes clear my head and do my body a whole lot of good. So with that in mind, I went on a walk today which I thought was going to be much shorter than it really was, but then what do I expect for trying to conquer half of Hong Kong island in one afternoon...

Mind you, it wasn't a difficult walk at all. I thought it was quite relaxing with 90% of it being on flat terrain, and of that, 80% being paved as it is a catchwater trail. The views especially were fantastic, ranging from an urban mish-mash in the north to the absolute peace of the south. Sure I wish it was less hazy, but it was still pretty... and I'm extremely proud of making it to Stanley from Central. Haha... Click here for a rough route map of my trip! 14 kilometers covered in just under 6 hours... took so long because there were many rest and photo stops involved. Shouldn't take you longer than 3-4 hours otherwise.

The only downside being that my legs are dead now because of all the walking on concrete...but, at least I'll be getting a good night's rest tonight.

Today's Flickr Uploads: Cheung Chau Clutter