So, yeah, it has been a crazy busy week and there weren't even any classes to attend. HKU gives its students a week off for midterm preparation. That sounds like a nice vacation, but since there is always work to be done Carina and I took the time to pick up the pace on some back-burner projects, first and foremost of which was cleaning the apartment. I cannot tell you how much better the kitchen and bathroom look now that I have sterilized, sanitized, and scrubbed them as much as I could bear (which, for the record, is a lot). Gone are the muck-covered floors, ant-riddled counters, burnt stove tops, and foul-smelling commode. Well, I mean, the physical objects are still there, but they're clean now. So, yay, go me. The only problem that we can't seem to get rid of is a clogged kitchen sink. We took a plunger to it the other day and that helped the water flow, but it still isn't doing a terrific job of draining. On the bright side, Beanpole seems to be gone for the week. That means keeping things clean should be less difficult. On the other hand, the less-dirty but bathroom-intensive Leetleman (that's his new nickname) has returned. That means strategy will be required when waiting to use the toilet.
Oh, speaking of which: Yes, I am feeling better. If you don't know what I'm talking about be thankful.
Blah blah blah, cleaning has kept us very busy. What else has been going on? Oh, right, I gave my first presentation on my thesis material. Granted, it was really just a trial run and only three people attended, but it was an appreciated opportunity to give a lecture on the material I've been working out for several years and I received a positive response with some really helpful feedback on how to clarify a few points for the next presentation. That's right, I'll be giving a department-wide seminar on part of my thesis at the end of November (Thanksgiving, in fact). I realize that this may upset some people who have strong beliefs about how T-day should be spent, but I hope everyone can understand that (1) Thanksgiving isn't recognized as a holiday in HK, and (2) that there is a schedule I need to help fill-out and fit into for the sake of everyone else. I'm really looking forward to it. I just hope I don't go too far over or under time.
Carina has been really busy with her own projects. She'll be taking her second exam today (hopefully another smashing job) and has spent the past few days going through the required readings and lecture recordings. I don't know how she deals with all of it, considering how dull the material is. A lot of it just seems like common sense, too. Then again, I suppose there are people out there who are not of sufficient intuitive capacity to be teachers, hence the rote learning. Still, she's been putting in a lot of time and effort and you have to respect that. I've also been helping her along with her behavior-change project, mostly by trying not to get angry and recording when I get annoyed/angry/RAWR. I'm not typically an angry person, but I am very passionate about a lot of issues that are neglected or trounced upon here in Hong Kong. As a result, I sometimes feel perpetually annoyed and this can make me a real pain to deal with. Carina has been helping me manage my anger with this project, though, and I think the results will be pretty good. I have for certain felt better as of late and been less angry, finding constructive outlets for my vexation. I hope I can still give her enough data to work with.
I imagine it has been nice for her having a week off from being dumped-on by her boss, too. Since HKU has been out of session, her boss has been on a bit of a break which means less work. In my opinion, this has been a blessing since it lets Carina get around to doing her classwork. Granted, said work is terribly boring, but it does need to get done.
All right, I feel like I'm rambling now. I started writing a story again this morning and I might be all written-out for the day. Yet, as with the cleaning, my thesis, my running, and all other projects, after some downtime I'll be up and raring to go again; from the ashes, folks. For now, though, I'm going to pass out before class.
Hugs and kisses,
Colin
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