I kind of feel lost now that school is finished and summer vacation has officially started. The emptiness wasn’t as tranquil as I thought it would be. I seriously need to find a new goal.
Watched a couple of documentaries related to design (i.e. Objectified & Helvetica), then spent much of the other time modifying my DIY clock.
Submitted my paper on “Mitigating Air Pollution with Architecture in Hong Kong” today. There were at least 3 months for me to work on it, but I barely did any work until the last two weeks, all the other time were wasted on procrastination. I don’t know why I just can’t get myself to start and finish things earlier…
It’s a relief nonetheless! School won’t start again until September, and I have the next few months free to pursue some of my long endeavors – visit World Expo, setup my home office, get some freelance work going, summer reading, join a fellowship at church…
Took my mind off my paper tonight to play some badminton. Afterwards, we stopped by this soccer court in Tsing Yi where a hugh bamboo structure was set up for the traditional Chinese opera. They had this every year when I was living in TY in high school, but I just didn’t expect the tradition to live on after so many years.
I gave in to my craving and had some street food, my first time since returning to HK. It was delicious, and no stomach ache followed too! There’s something I like about eating food the uncivilized way, I think it’s the whole freedom and unrestricted experience. Also, the experience is much enriched by the company of friends chatting and joking around freely without worrying about anything… It certainly brought back some good memories of my high school years in HK.
There is this MINI showcase in the mall close by, I couldn’t resist to close in and take a peek at it (this is out of my character as I have a tendency to avoid crowds). After returning my leased car about a year ago, the vivid image of my hand gently holding the round-topped stick shifting gears still occasionally pops up in my dreams. I don’t know if it’s the car, the manual driving, or just the freedom of the whole driving experience, but I kind of miss it. I didn’t know it was this addictive until now.
It’s been close to 8 months since I returned, and I still often have these nostalgic feelings for Canada – the environment and the scenery of the 4 distinct seasons, the small but warm church, the people who know me well, and the simple and free lifestyle. Sigh, I’ve really spent too much time reminiscing the past since I returned, I need to learn to live in the present. Let’s move on!
Walls that breathe, roofs with glimpses of the sky, sliding windows with views of the vast Australian landscape, together with the smell of seasonal flowers and occasional sound of dripping rain, I can imagine myself relaxing and enjoying my cup of morning coffee in a veranda house designed by Glenn Murcutt. The Architect describes his designs to be in tune with the climate and right for the given landscape. He design his houses for serenity, hoping the inhabitants would feel at ease rather than trapped.
I think it would be lovely to live in one of those houses, but I doubt that to be the ideal sustainable lifestyle. Besides, with land prices so high here, who can afford a little piece of serenity that way?!
One inevitably feels honored when being asked to be the Best Man for his friend’s wedding, but I was a bit reluctant at first because I don’t really like attracting attention and have a natural tendency to shy away from the spotlight. But after everything about the wedding is completed tonight, I’m glad that I took up my friend’s offer.
At the dinner banquet, I had the opportunity of seeing many uncles and aunties whom I haven’t seen for a long time. There’s this funny feeling when they actually remembered me and held memories of me as a kid. It brought back good memories that were long forgotten. I was sitting at the head table and surprisingly I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. I remember seeing everyone of them when I was a kid playing with the groom, strangely I felt as though I was part of the family.
When I came home from badminton tonight, my mom told me worryingly to close the windows and turn on the air conditioning before going to bed. The weather isn’t too hot yet, it’s the air pollution! The air pollution index (api) topped off at 500 (severe) today mainly due to the devastating sandstorm from northern China. Air pollution is indeed one of the things I hated most about HK, I think I’ve chosen the right topic for my research paper.
My tiredness continued today as I couldn’t quite sleep last night, hopefully the air-con would help me to get a much needed restful sleep…
Today’s one of those days when I just don’t feel like doing anything. After departing my friend at the airport, I went home and decided to go down to shoot some hoops, just like the last few weekends. The basketball seemed to be heavier than usual today, and I had my worst shooting record by far!
In general, I’m kind of low in energy and motivation these days. I can’t seem to pull myself together to do anything other than my research paper, which I had barely started.
In my mind, architects always hold this mysterious prestige status, attractive yet unattainable. Perhaps I was drawn to the field by the creative and inspirational masterpieces of world-renowned celebrity architects. It seems to be a field never lacking dreams and aspirations.
Yet, my perception of “architects” seems to have shifted slightly after looking at the pictures of the magnificent vernacular architectures that did not have any architects’ name attached. Instead, the structures were shaped by communities and long-standing cultures. They were often composed of similar units but appear non-monotonous because they followed the natural curves of the landscape.
After a long week of sore throat and “dizziness”, it feels good to be healthy again! Suddenly, food tastes better, mind is clearer, and even badminton games seem more enjoyable!
Timing is just right, I need to gear up to work on my research paper and help with my friend’s wedding preparations…
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