Aquarium

Helped a friend fix a website bug before heading out for lunch today.  Went for a little stroll in Mong Kok afterwards and bought a batch of cherry shrimps.  I had been trying to breed the tiny shrimps for months without success – I can see miniscule transparent baby shrimps, but they can’t seem to live longer than a couple of days.  Adjusted the aquarium heater from 21 to 24 degrees, hopefully the higher (supposedly optimal) temperature would make them more comfortable and live longer.

Tending my 2 aquariums and plants is perhaps one of my major weekend events for the last couple of years – it’s low cost, rewarding, and helps me learn about the wonderful creations of God.  This little hobby of mine is nothing comparing to the lavish wine indulgence of our city’s Chief Executive candidate.  I don’t usually talk politics, but if he really becomes our Chief Executive, there’s really no hope in solving one of HK’s most prominent social problems – the disparity of rich and poor.

20120218-215510.jpg

.....................................................................

Iron Ring Replacement

20120216-010914.jpgHad dinner with some UW friends and their other halves.  Thankful that my friend brought back my iron ring replacement from across the globe – it will serve as a constant reminder of the new year’s resolution I’ve made at the start of 2012!

.....................................................................

Valentine’s Day

20120214-190112.jpgValentine’s Day isn’t really such a festive day for singles like me.  Did a quick Wiki look up, the origin of the holiday was setup in remembrance of a Christian martyr and has nothing to do with flowers and chocolates.  Nonetheless, I’m happy for those who have found their other half, may they cherish one another and only till death do they part.

.....................................................................

State of Contemplation

It was past midnight when I got home last night.  Took a shower and then went straight to my computer to finish off some freelance work.  Before I knew it, it was 4 in the morning!  I probably didn’t sleep until 5am.

Woke up at around 10 this morning, had a very light breakfast while catching up with the daily news.  Left home before noon for an early brunch, then took an aimless stroll around Mong Kok… was thinking about numerous things – career, family, friends, life’s partner, and life itself… I seem to be trapped in a constant state of contemplation this week.  Sleepiness and drunkenness does seem to do wonders for my creativity (article)…

.....................................................................

New Devotion Routine

Did a self assessment earlier and realized that I’m neither a natural night owl nor a morning lark, meaning that I have the option to tune my body to adjust either way.  I’ve always wanted to turn myself into a morning person, but was never quite successful.

In my devotion yesterday, I read about how Jesus woke up in the early morning while the sky was still dark to go to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35-37).  It’s such a nice picture – a solitary place at a time when the city is still asleep and there’s no one around except you and God!  Today, I decided to switch my devotion time from bedtime to morning.  It does seem to make my day more productive, but let’s see how long I can keep this habit, and whether I can transform myself into the morning person I’ve always wanted to be…

.....................................................................

Work and Play

Did a fair bit of freelance work today.  Happy that I was finally contacted about a leaflet design freelance project I worked on before Christmas, I was starting to worry that my work would just go down the drain without being paid.  Hope is alive once again!

Played some soccer on a chilly rainy night, my jersey, socks, cleats, and bag got all soggy.  The game seems more enjoyable after a day of work – “Work hard, Play hard!”

20120208-002636.jpg

.....................................................................

Tiredness

Didn’t sleep too well for the last couple of nights.  Actually woke up from a vivid nightmare last night, haven’t had one of those dreams for awhile.  Feeling a bit tired this weekend…

Looking back this week, I’ve put in a bit over 19 hours to my freelance work, much less than a regular 40-hour work week, and even much less when comparing to the crazy working hours of people in HK.  Nonetheless, I consider this a good start to my freelance career.

The media has been overwhelmed with news regarding conflicts of Mainlanders and HK people recently, I’m a bit tired from hearing all the negative news.  My parents came to HK from mainland China when they were young to seek a better lifestyle, so I consider myself very much a Chinese even though I was born in HK (a British colony at the time) and had spent about half my life in Canada.  Why is it so hard for people to get along, not to mention that we’re of the same race?!  Suddenly recall the bible story about Moses trying to stop the fight of 2 Israelites…

Sometimes I just want to move back to Canada where life is much simpler and quieter…

.....................................................................

Freelancing

Worked for a bit over 6 hours today, my hardest working day thus far this week.  It’s been a long time since I last immersed myself in codes, can’t help but recall my days as a software developer, the major difference being now I don’t have a friend working by my side.  Miss having friends as my coworkers, how nice would it be to have someone to play hacky sack with after a crazy troubleshooting session?!

With freelancing, I can never predict when I’ll get my next project, so I’m thankful for every opportunity I have.

20120202-210352.jpg

.....................................................................

Red Pockets

It was almost impossible to work in my home studio in the late afternoon because of the westerly sun, so I took a break and opened my red pockets that were collected during the CNY holiday.  Looked at some of the new bill designs and noticed that Braille was incorporated, nice to see designs that can help the less fortunate.

Had been slowly increasing my work hours this week, need to plan my time around the late afternoon sun starting tomorrow…

20120201-170826.jpg

.....................................................................

Freelancing

20120130-184252.jpgNeed to put aside my holiday mood and start a new freelance project today, wasn’t easy, but I managed to put in a very efficient 2 hours of work. Thankful that I have work lined up one after another.

Skimmed through a recruitment newsletter, and after looking at the job postings, I was reassured that I’ve made the right choice to take the plunge of entrepreneurship.

.....................................................................