I know that this is supposed to be a Chinese New Year update, but I thought we would take a bit of a serious detour instead today.
As some of you may know, I received my first rejection notice yesterday and, unfortunately, it was also from my first choice of school. At first I was absolutely inconsolable over the matter. How could my credentials not be sufficient to gain admission to this philosophy program? Certainly they have a large pool of talented applicants every year, but let us look at my qualifications and needs:
1) I have a 1400 GRE score which fits reasonably within the average.
2) I have already completed one thesis with a second one nearing completion.
3) I have presented a paper at a conference and given another presentation in-department in Hong Kong.
4) I have spent two years studying in Hong Kong at one of Asia's top universities (sure, that does not say much but they have accepted applicants from less-prestigious universities).
5) I have at least middling proficiency in three additional languages (Spanish, Latin, and both simplified and traditional Chinese).
6) I have actually held a job for more than two months (which counts for more than you might think).
7) I had two internal recommendations and two external recommendations, all from academics in the top of their specific areas.
8) I am married (not a qualification per se but I like to think it's a respectable trait).
9) I have actually done original research and designed a potential project for a doctoral dissertation.
10) My project uniquely fits a certain niche of interdisciplinary work that only a very limited number of schools can support with any real depth.
Now, with all of these things in mind, how could anyone think of me as a weak candidate? What did some other applicant do, save the rain forest with one arm tied behind his or her back?
Relax, man, and take a chill pill. A number of people have informed me that it is common practice for universities to reject re-entry attempts by applicants who were previous undergraduates...no matter what the situation of the applicant may be. Ah, okay, now we might be getting somewhere. It turns out that this may well have been (re: was) the case with my application. It never had a chance. The reason being? I already had a diploma from their institution.
I want to clarify that I do not feel discriminated against here, nor do I feel cheated or as if I was treated unfairly. I am very much aware that almost all colleges hold this policy and that almost any student would have been given the same treatment I was if he or she was in my situation. It is also not an unreasonable philosophy to hold: you want students to gain a cornucopia of experiences academic and otherwise; diversity makes the beast stronger. If I sat in the same place thinking the same thoughts day after day I would be both very unproductive and, more frighteningly, very boring. The horror. So the fact that this has remained a long-standing policy in American higher education should shock no one and, in fact, is rather comforting to those of us who worry it may have been a lack of credentials that resulted in our rejection. The message? "You're not stupid, we just don't want you back, er, think you should get experience elsewhere." Okay, thanks Ma and Pa, I'm sure it's not about avoiding the appearance of nepotism as well or anything. Okay, maybe there's a little snark here.
I am not done yet, though, because I want to critically examine this academic policy. Without any malice or spitefulness I can say that there are some significant drawbacks to rigidly holding to this admissions principle, the first of which is that it does limit the prospects of students who have very particular interests that may only overlap with a few select departments. If a student becomes enamored with a specific project that is only being pursued at one or a handful of universities, one or the only one of which happens to be his or her alma mater, then what is that student to do? Take it further: the best postgraduate option for that student is the alma mater. Now what? Switch interests or fields? Give up? That seems a bit unreasonable. Why should a student's options suffer, both in quality and quantity, simply because they were a previous admit? Granted, this will only happen in niche cases like mine, but it can and does happen and, frankly, it is probably something worth considering.
To be truthful, I am surprised this kind of thing does not happen more often. Due to the way we rush students through schools in the US, at the undergraduate level many of us only scratch the surface of the fields in which we end up pursuing further study. This brings me to my second point: since students seldom ingrain themselves in specific departments during their time as undergraduates (or, if they do, it is more an ingraining of acquaintance rather than depth; they rarely do any real work with faculty as opposed to under faculty) it may be overblown to characterize the pursuit of further study at the same institution as allowing such students to remain narrowly in a particular comfort zone. The argument seems even more inaccurate for students like myself who have been abroad and working elsewhere for at least two years. Clearly we have been out of our comfort zones for a while and are quite broad, it probably would not hurt to return to a university where we have very few, if any, deep connections with the faculty at large. Even assuming we did the relationship dynamic would be altered significantly by maturation of ideas and divergent experiences, that's simple psychology. Again, I definitely see the merit of the comfort zone concern, but it might be over-emphasized.
Let us take an example from one of the western world's favorite philosophers: Immanuel Kant. Kant has been lauded as a genius, a broad thinker whose ideas were significant in early modern philosophy and remain major points of discussion in contemporary ethics and politics. Frankly, I think he should also make a fascinating case study for psychology. If the stories about his personal life are to be believed, then Kant, like so many other great minds, was a sad, strange little man. Supposedly he was extremely obsessive-compulsive and clung strongly to his habits. He would, I have been told, walk the same path at the same time in the same city every day. To the best of our knowledge he never really left Konigsberg, yet he somehow managed to produce works that continue to ground many philosophical arguments. Now, tell me something: if a man who never left the town he was born in could do all of that, then why should we assume the current human mind has declined so?
On a final note, I want to return to a matter I raised in point one, that a prospective student's best option might be where he or she completed an undergraduate degree. Now, when I say "best option" I don't just mean "best fit for the project". That's clearly a concern, but it's not the only thing to be thinking about. You also want to be thinking about your future career. If you plan to stay in academia, then you need to get into the most prestigious programs that you can that also support your work. Why? If you do not, then when you go job-hunting you may find your prospects of finding a new home to be, well...nil. That PhD you worked so long to obtain? Yeah, no, that doesn't matter because you got it from Backwoods U, even though your BA was from the University of Awesome.
This leads to a major conflict for people who just want to get the most they can out of academia: How do I plan my college career? That's right, you have to ask someone, at the age of around eighteen, how they want to spend the next four to twelve years. Do you know how many unknown and unsolvable variables there are in four to twelve years? I'll give you a hint: infinitely more than the known ones. Had I known what I would want to do six years ago, would I have made the same choices I did? Maybe (probably, as I try to live without regrets). The problem is that we're now juggling matters that cannot be known, and that's simply unreasonable. Compounding the dilemma is the issue of prestige: if you have already been to the best-rated, best-fit university as an undergraduate and you want to pursue a line of work that you discovered there, only to find out your options are extremely limited and all of the other options are career-killers, then what happens? Alternatively, maybe you think: well, perhaps it would be easier to just start at a decent but not great university and work my way up? Bzzt! Wrong answer, as only 1% of postgraduate admits in elite universities will be from non-elite schools. Bit of a catch-22, isn't it? So what do you do? I keep hearing things like "Change fields" or "Consider other job prospects." I acknowledge that I have to take these options seriously, but that also seems absurd. If someone is really dedicated to a particular line of study and is more than competent enough to flourish in that area, do we not value the idea of aiding this person in realizing his or her goals and, in doing so, benefiting the academic pursuit as a whole? Why would you not want the best people to have the best opportunities? You just end up stifling yourself in the process.
In conclusion, I want to restate that the thesis here is not to completely dismiss the "no readmissions" policy but, rather, to evaluate what I think of as some compelling counter-considerations that universities might want to reflect upon before adopting the policy rigidly. My motives, I hope it is clear, are self-serving only in the sense that I am an academic, and I want academia to be able to flourish as a whole.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
A Surprisingly Decent Sandwich
Welcome back for the weekly update...where, as usual, there really isn't all that much to say.
It's been a rather laid-back week for the two of us, Carina's bout of sinus problems aside. I decided to postpone my auditing until the week of the 30th since, let's face it, no one is going to be teaching all that much before Chinese Lunar New Year. Oh, yes, that's right: Chinese Lunar New Year starts tomorrow evening. That means...um...what does that mean? Well, to be honest I'm not exactly sure, but I know it means a parade (and that our flatmates will be gone for at least a week, thank tian). A new parade means new photos, and new photos mean new camera. "New camera?" you ask. "What happened to the old one?" Well, there's a story there...
Shortly before we left to come home for the winter holiday, there was a bit of a fudge-up with my old digital camera's memory card or memory card slot (not sure which). Originally we were going to take Carina's massive "OMG PICTURES" camera home and leave my smaller, much more reasonably-sized-for-travelling camera in HK. When we had the tech-hiccup, though, I guess Carina decided we should take it back home with us to make sure we could get it working again.
Okay, sure, whatever.
This would have all be fine and dandy except for the part where the camera seems to have been either A) left in Durham or B) hidden somewhere in the apartment here never to be found again. Lovely. As a result, we now had no camera (functioning or otherwise) and no way of taking pictures. To me this is no big deal; to Carina this is a big deal. Weak-willed man that I am, I quickly caved to peer pressure and we set out in search of a new camera.
It didn't take very long for us to locate this little number at a nearby Fortress (the basic electronics chain for Hong Kong) and set ourselves up for another batch of images from this year's parade featuring my zodiac symbol, the dragon. Look forward to it, not only for the pictures you'll be receiving but also because Carina will be posting again!
Anyway, to stay on topic with regard to the title: I had a good sandwich on Thursday. My supervisor took me out to lunch along with his wife and my fellow graduate student, Donald. Chris appreciates good Chinese food, but I think he's also aware of how bad most of the food on Hong Kong island is (unless you pay an arm and a leg). He's also painfully aware of how hard it is to get a good sandwich unless you make it yourself. Fortunately, since he has a bit more "gustatory experience" than I do around here he knows some good places for chow. We went to a place called "Simplylife Bread & Wine" (apparently it's one word) at one of Hong Kong's mega-malls called the "IFC" (styled "ifc" for who knows what reason). Although the place is anything but "simple" it was a nice experience and the food was delicious. I had a baguette with smoked turkey, brie, and basil. I don't usually eat cheese but the turkey was too good to pass up and I did not regret my deviation from the norm. I might take Carina over at some point. It's definitely a place worth recommending, as are most of the dining venues in that area. I guess when you have something like a mega-mall you want to make it attractive to all the senses, right?
The best part of the meal, however, is that Chris is firmly on-board with my timetable and seemed very much willing to help me finish my degree before my lease expires. He seems to have mellowed out quite a bit over the holiday, no doubt thanks to his wife's presence. She seems to be an insightful and gregarious woman and I think that suits his needs well. He also lost quite a bit of weight and I know how that can also make a person feel a bit better. I think this last semester will be one to relish.
On a final note, I'm buckling down to re-learn what Chinese I learned before along with about 2000 additional characters. My goal is to learn the 3000 most common Chinese characters before I start my PhD (wherever that may be). Keep your fingers crossed for good news in the next month or two!
Okay, this is Colin signing off!
It's been a rather laid-back week for the two of us, Carina's bout of sinus problems aside. I decided to postpone my auditing until the week of the 30th since, let's face it, no one is going to be teaching all that much before Chinese Lunar New Year. Oh, yes, that's right: Chinese Lunar New Year starts tomorrow evening. That means...um...what does that mean? Well, to be honest I'm not exactly sure, but I know it means a parade (and that our flatmates will be gone for at least a week, thank tian). A new parade means new photos, and new photos mean new camera. "New camera?" you ask. "What happened to the old one?" Well, there's a story there...
Shortly before we left to come home for the winter holiday, there was a bit of a fudge-up with my old digital camera's memory card or memory card slot (not sure which). Originally we were going to take Carina's massive "OMG PICTURES" camera home and leave my smaller, much more reasonably-sized-for-travelling camera in HK. When we had the tech-hiccup, though, I guess Carina decided we should take it back home with us to make sure we could get it working again.
Okay, sure, whatever.
This would have all be fine and dandy except for the part where the camera seems to have been either A) left in Durham or B) hidden somewhere in the apartment here never to be found again. Lovely. As a result, we now had no camera (functioning or otherwise) and no way of taking pictures. To me this is no big deal; to Carina this is a big deal. Weak-willed man that I am, I quickly caved to peer pressure and we set out in search of a new camera.
It didn't take very long for us to locate this little number at a nearby Fortress (the basic electronics chain for Hong Kong) and set ourselves up for another batch of images from this year's parade featuring my zodiac symbol, the dragon. Look forward to it, not only for the pictures you'll be receiving but also because Carina will be posting again!
Anyway, to stay on topic with regard to the title: I had a good sandwich on Thursday. My supervisor took me out to lunch along with his wife and my fellow graduate student, Donald. Chris appreciates good Chinese food, but I think he's also aware of how bad most of the food on Hong Kong island is (unless you pay an arm and a leg). He's also painfully aware of how hard it is to get a good sandwich unless you make it yourself. Fortunately, since he has a bit more "gustatory experience" than I do around here he knows some good places for chow. We went to a place called "Simplylife Bread & Wine" (apparently it's one word) at one of Hong Kong's mega-malls called the "IFC" (styled "ifc" for who knows what reason). Although the place is anything but "simple" it was a nice experience and the food was delicious. I had a baguette with smoked turkey, brie, and basil. I don't usually eat cheese but the turkey was too good to pass up and I did not regret my deviation from the norm. I might take Carina over at some point. It's definitely a place worth recommending, as are most of the dining venues in that area. I guess when you have something like a mega-mall you want to make it attractive to all the senses, right?
The best part of the meal, however, is that Chris is firmly on-board with my timetable and seemed very much willing to help me finish my degree before my lease expires. He seems to have mellowed out quite a bit over the holiday, no doubt thanks to his wife's presence. She seems to be an insightful and gregarious woman and I think that suits his needs well. He also lost quite a bit of weight and I know how that can also make a person feel a bit better. I think this last semester will be one to relish.
On a final note, I'm buckling down to re-learn what Chinese I learned before along with about 2000 additional characters. My goal is to learn the 3000 most common Chinese characters before I start my PhD (wherever that may be). Keep your fingers crossed for good news in the next month or two!
Okay, this is Colin signing off!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Readjustments
Jet-lag is a pain in the keister. I guess that's why I keep two different schedules for when I'm on home soil as opposed to Hong Kong asphalt (because, as we know, there is no soil in Hong Kong). At home I usually sleep from 10PM-6AM with flexibility on days off. Here I sleep from around 8PM-4AM, then nap after my morning workout. That significantly reduces the number of hours I have to adjust by. Of course, crowd density and temperature in the morning hours are also significant reasons to wake up early in HK, but I wanted to open with the topic of jet-lag because it's something that anyone moving to Hong Kong from the US has to deal with.
That and the damp.
Numerous people have said that the winter is one of the worst times to visit HK. Barring Lunar New Year (dragons represent, woot-woot!), there really isn't much to do in HK from January-February. Of course, I don't think there's much to do in HK at any time during the year, so that's not really a good point of warning. What is worth being wary of is the fact that it's so freaking moist here.
In the non-winter months, heat and humidity are oppressive. They form a smothering blanket that will just make your life miserable. Winter wetness, however, is a whole different monster. Although staying cool is no problem, keeping warm and dry can be. Since no one uses a bloody dryer in Hong Kong, it's virtually impossible to completely dry your clothes without getting creative. To that end we've set up a fan and a makeshift clothes rack in our room to expedite the (semi-) drying process. It's not very effective, but it's better than waiting a week for your clothes to dry and praying that it doesn't rain.
Speaking of the rain, it has been pouring here for the past two days. It begs the question of where all of this water is during the hot months. You know, when it would actually be nice to have around. I don't think I need to tell you that I'm not exactly looking forward to going out in this weather, especially not with one pair of shoes already soaked from my morning run. I hope that fan can at least dry those out at a reasonable rate...
Clothes aren't the only thing to worry about, though. The moisture seeps into everything. You cannot leave anything near a window, as there is no insulation in these buildings; it's just plaster. I learned this last year with some papers I had resting near the window. When I found them melded together one day I knew I had reason for concern (good thing they weren't important).
Of course, having no insulation also brings us back to the point about keeping warm. Although I'm still walking around in my boxers, I have taken to wearing my jacket around the apartment in the mornings just to put a layer between myself and the air. We've even been able to use real blankets at night which is a pleasant change. There's just something satisfying about being able to curl up under a comforter and sleep at night...even if it is a little moist. Note to self: do not wash any of the sheets until late February/early March. Also, do not wash all jackets at the same time. We made that mistake last winter...
The only other thing we've really been readjusting to is cooking in HK, a challenge that I actually enjoy to a degree. Although we lack a good kitchen, we supplement our deficiencies with creativity. I'm back on the quest to perfect my signature pasta sauce and I've made some interesting developments in oil-free/minimal oil cooking. I know, blasphemy, but give it a shot sometime and see if you like it. Carina also attempted to make veggie burgers the other night and, although they weren't quite burgers, they were delicious open-faced sandwiches. Also: peanut butter, yum.
This week HKU opens up for its students again and it's the first semester where there aren't any classes that really interest me. I'm going to audit what I can, but I'm not expecting much aside from the senior seminar. I'm not TA'ing this semester either, so that's even less to occupy my time. The good news is that Chris has assured me he will be getting back to me with comments around the end of the month. That's good, but we really need to be on top of things right now. I'll be having lunch with him on Thursday and I'll try to make it clear to him that when I say "May 17th deadline," I mean it. I really can't afford to do things any differently. No, literally, I can't afford it: we don't have the money!
A quick blurb about Carina (who has largely abandoned this blog since she writes her own which is probably far superior to this one): She's doing pretty well. She's been sick for the past few days but I think she's getting past it nicely. She even started working out again today and looks great. I think she's really dedicated to getting into a healthy routine and I'm happy about that. I just hope she can keep it up and not get worn down by this weather, let alone her boss and schoolwork.
Oh, that's more good news: she's getting her contract renewed and pay raise today. That means we'll have more income and that means we can eat more (always a good thing). We'll also be having coffee with our friend and colleague Alex today and find out if she still needs a position filled. I think the best part is that Carina seems to have a pretty good deal of control over her workload now, so hopefully she'll be less stressed-out and able to get her schoolwork done in a way she finds suitable. That's particularly good since I think she's really going to enjoy her current class.
All right, that's thirty minutes of blogging out of my day. Back to...whatever it is I do.
Stay in school...and never leave,
Colin
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Hong Kong: The Final Chapter Begins
Epic title for a not-so-epic post. I really just wanted to update the blog and let everyone know that we safely arrived back in Hong Kong and are currently awake at 6-something AM to tell you about it. Yay.
The only real point of interest is that this will be our last stint in Hong Kong (thank tian) and that come 18 May we will be back in the good old US of A to stay. Well, we'll stay for as long as it suits us. No promises, folks. I am not a fortune teller.
What I can tell, though, is that I am hoping to hear back from Duke University with an offer of admission within the next three months. Alternative schools include Riverside and Utah, but Duke is probably the best option given the bent of my work. If that ends up being the case then, yes, we will be staying in the old country for at least another four years.
That is the possible future, though, and in the present we are back in Hong Kong. So, how is it? Well, as I expected it's another case of "the more things change the more they stay the same," by which I mean tons of construction. Everywhere. At all hours. Perhaps the epitome of this saying can be viewed next door, where a bakery chain is undergoing renovations. Their sign? "Coming soon: Maxim's Bakery." Yes, that's right, something that was already there is coming soon.
Let's set that paradox aside, though, and look at the bright side (there's always a bright side, right?), upon which we find that the construction along the path I like to run in the morning has mostly been cleared up, so hooray for no more crazy dodging traffic to cross the road. Also, it's winter, or what passes for winter in Hong Kong, which means we can wear clothes again...for a while, anyway. So hurrah for all of that.
This is a Colin blog, though, which means I must kvetch about something. The topic of today's kvetch? Air Canada. You know, I thought dealing with Air Canada would be like dealing with most Canadians which means an intelligent, considerate exchange of ideas while maintaining respect for one another's humanity and holding a friendly demeanor. Yeah, no. Although the lovely 777 was probably the most comfortable flight I've been on since Lufthansa with regard to my back (which doesn't say much but I'll give credit where it's due) we were treated to the most vile food I think I've ever been served on an airplane. Do you want the rundown? No? Too bad, you're getting it anyway.
First off, the snacks: pretzels. Pretzels are a pretty standard snack on airlines since peanuts were banned due to allergies. Although I continue to miss those awesome, roasted legumes I do love pretzels so it's a change I warily accepted. Air Canada is like most airlines in this regard yet they have added a strange twist (no pun intended) to their mini pretzels: fat-free artificial butter flavoring. Now, as a health nut you might think I wouldn't be too terribly offended by the fact that the flavoring adds no fat content (although who knows what chemicals it puts in your body?). I also like my food to taste good, though, and I've never seen the point of putting butter on much anything, least of all baked mini-pretzels. Although I eventually got over the weirdness of it, I cannot help but be put-off by the unnecessary additive. Still, this was probably the best thing we were given to eat.
Next was lunch: pork. I should have known things were going downhill when they were less than half-way through the lunch service and already out of options for what you would get. A lunch tray was dropped before me with some run-of-the-mill Chinese pork dish for me to eat. To their credit, it still tasted better than what you get at most diners in Hong Kong. On the downside I had no poultry option and the salad they served, although flavorful, was just too small. I guess the chocolate cake dessert was okay? I don't really know, it was all pretty generic.
The mid-flight snack: Cup Noodles (yes, the ramen brand), a roast beef nano-baguette (I say nano because it was too small to be "mini" and, being Canadian, included mayonnaise for no good reason), and a little bran biscuit thingy. Once again, the smallest item was probably the tastiest (and healthiest). I don't think I need to tell you how I feel about mayo, so I'll just say that the nano tasted like something out of Lunchables box. I haven't eaten Lunchables since I was in elementary school, and there's a reason for that. As for the Cup Noodles, well, I think you all understand why I don't like clogging my body with all that crap. To this day I have yet to understand how they even get 13 grams of fat and over 300 calories into a container of noodles and broth and why anyone would want to eat it. Yet I did. Now I am sick and probably should work-out more.
Finally, breakfast: I did not have breakfast. After the Cup Noodles I could not bring myself to eat anything else. The options were congee (which is blander than grits) and cheese omelette, neither of which appeal to me. I said "No thank you," and contented myself with much needed orange juice to re-hydrate. Carina ate some breakfast and said it was pretty awful. I'll take her word for it.
So, what did we learn? Well, we learned that Air Canada's food sucks and should be consumed only by bacteria capable of breaking down the most complex compounds and converting them into substances that would actually benefit rather than poison humans. Next time out we will be picking up our own foods to eat and avoiding the in-flight fare (unless it's actually good which is unlikely) as well as the in-flight upset stomachs. Seriously, I haven't felt that ill since I was a kid and ate all of my Halloween candy in one night. Ugh!
That aside, it's nice to be down and resting. Today we need to finish organizing the apartment and do a little food shopping. That means taking inventory of both our stores and our cash. Hopefully we've amassed enough to avoid any potential problems. I guess we'll see. Until then, we remain faithfully yours.
Hearts, stars, and horseshoes,
Colin
The only real point of interest is that this will be our last stint in Hong Kong (thank tian) and that come 18 May we will be back in the good old US of A to stay. Well, we'll stay for as long as it suits us. No promises, folks. I am not a fortune teller.
What I can tell, though, is that I am hoping to hear back from Duke University with an offer of admission within the next three months. Alternative schools include Riverside and Utah, but Duke is probably the best option given the bent of my work. If that ends up being the case then, yes, we will be staying in the old country for at least another four years.
That is the possible future, though, and in the present we are back in Hong Kong. So, how is it? Well, as I expected it's another case of "the more things change the more they stay the same," by which I mean tons of construction. Everywhere. At all hours. Perhaps the epitome of this saying can be viewed next door, where a bakery chain is undergoing renovations. Their sign? "Coming soon: Maxim's Bakery." Yes, that's right, something that was already there is coming soon.
Let's set that paradox aside, though, and look at the bright side (there's always a bright side, right?), upon which we find that the construction along the path I like to run in the morning has mostly been cleared up, so hooray for no more crazy dodging traffic to cross the road. Also, it's winter, or what passes for winter in Hong Kong, which means we can wear clothes again...for a while, anyway. So hurrah for all of that.
This is a Colin blog, though, which means I must kvetch about something. The topic of today's kvetch? Air Canada. You know, I thought dealing with Air Canada would be like dealing with most Canadians which means an intelligent, considerate exchange of ideas while maintaining respect for one another's humanity and holding a friendly demeanor. Yeah, no. Although the lovely 777 was probably the most comfortable flight I've been on since Lufthansa with regard to my back (which doesn't say much but I'll give credit where it's due) we were treated to the most vile food I think I've ever been served on an airplane. Do you want the rundown? No? Too bad, you're getting it anyway.
First off, the snacks: pretzels. Pretzels are a pretty standard snack on airlines since peanuts were banned due to allergies. Although I continue to miss those awesome, roasted legumes I do love pretzels so it's a change I warily accepted. Air Canada is like most airlines in this regard yet they have added a strange twist (no pun intended) to their mini pretzels: fat-free artificial butter flavoring. Now, as a health nut you might think I wouldn't be too terribly offended by the fact that the flavoring adds no fat content (although who knows what chemicals it puts in your body?). I also like my food to taste good, though, and I've never seen the point of putting butter on much anything, least of all baked mini-pretzels. Although I eventually got over the weirdness of it, I cannot help but be put-off by the unnecessary additive. Still, this was probably the best thing we were given to eat.
Next was lunch: pork. I should have known things were going downhill when they were less than half-way through the lunch service and already out of options for what you would get. A lunch tray was dropped before me with some run-of-the-mill Chinese pork dish for me to eat. To their credit, it still tasted better than what you get at most diners in Hong Kong. On the downside I had no poultry option and the salad they served, although flavorful, was just too small. I guess the chocolate cake dessert was okay? I don't really know, it was all pretty generic.
The mid-flight snack: Cup Noodles (yes, the ramen brand), a roast beef nano-baguette (I say nano because it was too small to be "mini" and, being Canadian, included mayonnaise for no good reason), and a little bran biscuit thingy. Once again, the smallest item was probably the tastiest (and healthiest). I don't think I need to tell you how I feel about mayo, so I'll just say that the nano tasted like something out of Lunchables box. I haven't eaten Lunchables since I was in elementary school, and there's a reason for that. As for the Cup Noodles, well, I think you all understand why I don't like clogging my body with all that crap. To this day I have yet to understand how they even get 13 grams of fat and over 300 calories into a container of noodles and broth and why anyone would want to eat it. Yet I did. Now I am sick and probably should work-out more.
Finally, breakfast: I did not have breakfast. After the Cup Noodles I could not bring myself to eat anything else. The options were congee (which is blander than grits) and cheese omelette, neither of which appeal to me. I said "No thank you," and contented myself with much needed orange juice to re-hydrate. Carina ate some breakfast and said it was pretty awful. I'll take her word for it.
So, what did we learn? Well, we learned that Air Canada's food sucks and should be consumed only by bacteria capable of breaking down the most complex compounds and converting them into substances that would actually benefit rather than poison humans. Next time out we will be picking up our own foods to eat and avoiding the in-flight fare (unless it's actually good which is unlikely) as well as the in-flight upset stomachs. Seriously, I haven't felt that ill since I was a kid and ate all of my Halloween candy in one night. Ugh!
That aside, it's nice to be down and resting. Today we need to finish organizing the apartment and do a little food shopping. That means taking inventory of both our stores and our cash. Hopefully we've amassed enough to avoid any potential problems. I guess we'll see. Until then, we remain faithfully yours.
Hearts, stars, and horseshoes,
Colin
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