Cold Night

Dec 15, 2010

It’s only 12 degrees outside and will likely drop further to below 10 degrees according to forecast.  To winter-proof my studio’s aquarium, I’ve added a layer of dark gravel in the tank to absorb more radiant heat during the day.  Also set up a few candles on the side to provide some active heating.  The thermometer in the tank is now at 20 degrees, hopefully the heat capacity of the water and sediment will keep the temperature high enough for my four Corydoras Sterbai to survive the cold night(s).

Another Paper Submitted!

Dec 14, 2010

Made some minor modifications and formatting tweaks before submitting the paper I completed a few weeks ago.  This marks the end of the study term and the beginning of the Christmas & New Year holiday!

Father’s 70th Birthday

Dec 10, 2010

It’s Father’s 70th birthday, we had a big family dinner.  This is the first time the 14 of us took a photo together!  A truly memorable occasion.

There was an excessive amount of food, a few dishes had to go straight into the takeout containers.  There was even shark fins soup and an expensive fish that the captain told me was an endangered species, I can’t bare to touch those dishes.  I managed to keep my pose, but almost everyone else groaned one way or another over the excessiveness.  My mother kept nagging about how this would have been avoided if she had a say on the dishes beforehand.

I really disgust the way we civilized people are wasting so much time arguing over food, over what we should or should not eat, or how much or little we should eat.  There are people in this world who can’t even afford a piece of bread!  Frankly, I’ll be a happy camper if I had just a cup noodle for the night!

Father's 70th Birthday

Disneyland

Dec 6, 2010

Took my nephew to join my sister, brother-in-law, and my 2 nieces at Disneyland Resort this afternoon.  It’s my second time there, still not enjoying myself.  But the kids had a blast, guess that’s all it counts.

This is probably the furthest destination I’ve taken my nephew to by myself, I find it really entertaining listening to his questions.  His curiosity made my day.

Already tired from all the walking, but still pushed myself to play badminton with my friends at night as I haven’t played for weeks because of my paper.  Didn’t play too well as expected.

Didn’t sleep too well last night for some reason, and feeling a little bit unwell.  Badly need a restful sleep…

Disneyland

Independent Study – Submitted!

Dec 4, 2010

My desk hasn’t been this messy for a long time!  I kind of like it this way however, it’s visual proof that I had been busy.

Had been locking myself up to work on my independent study for more than a week now, just submitted the paper, RELIEF!!

Sunday

Nov 28, 2010

After 2 weekends of lecture, I can finally attend Sunday Service once again this morning.  I miss the tranquility and the constant reminder of how blessed I am.

Over the years, I had grew into the habit of ceasing all work and simply rest/play on Sundays.  There are 6 days to work in a week, giving my body & mind 1 single day to recoup shouldn’t be feeling all that guilty.

After Sunday Service and the usual family dim sum, I’ve finally had a chance to spend some quality time with my 5 y/o niece from Toronto.  It’s been more than a year since I played with her, I can feel how much she missed me.  Not sure if that’s a good thing since we’ll be parting again in a couple of weeks.

Interruptions

Nov 27, 2010

Locked myself up in my studio to do some work, didn’t progress too far, but better than nothing.

Had an argument with my mother this afternoon, I had to tell her for the third/fourth time that I can’t spend more quality time with my little niece from Toronto until I submit my assignment next week.  I just need a few days of uninterrupted time to finish off my work, is that too much to ask?!

I can’t work under constant interruptions, perhaps that’s why I prefer using FB over IM, and work at home rather than at office.  I’m reminded of a recent presentation I liked: Why work doesn’t happen at work?

Urban Climatology

Nov 25, 2010

Finished my assignment for the course on Urban Climatology, 3 weeks before the due date, an impressive record for my standard!

Have learned a fair bit about urban climate, I now understand the causes for lower wind speed and higher air temperature in urban areas.  The urban heat island effect is especially alarming in midst the global climate change.

Now I’m left with one more assignment that is due in about a week, need to lock myself up for a little longer…

Heat Island Effect (sketch)

Soccer

Nov 21, 2010

Lecture ended early today, so I was able to join my church brothers for soccer in the afternoon.  Came across trees of Bauhinia, it’s the blossoming season, the second season since I returned.

Didn’t play well today, my mind was too cluttered with thoughts.  I could have easily blamed the bumpy carpeted field for my poor performance, but I know deep down that I’m just too out of shape.

WKCD

Nov 19, 2010

Recently all that I can think of are the two assignments that I aim to finish before the end of the month.  My sleeps were often interrupted by vivid dreams and were not as revitalizing, a sign of procrastination and stress.

So it felt quite refreshing when I made time to see the proposals for the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) development.  I’ve seen the 3 proposals on newspaper before, and after seeing the models and skimming through the design briefs, I still prefer the one proposed by Rocco Design Architects.  But no matter who ends up winning the competition, it’s good to see that green plants had been rightfully allocated a big portion of the site in all 3 proposals.  We can certainly use more breathable landscapes in this suffocating city!

Will have another weekend of lectures.  Busy, tired, but thankful.

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