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!
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