It was my first time visiting the Hong Kong Science & Technology Park (HKSTP) this morning. The Professional Green Building Council Symposium 2009 on Urban Climate & Urban Greenery was unexpectedly interesting. I enjoy sitting in and listening to this type of conference that inspires me to think, but often times I just leave wondering how much of the talks would be put into actions…
I just realized today that I had missed the Autumnal Equinox – an important moment that signifies the start of Autumn for people living in the Northern Hemisphere. It was actually just a couple of weeks ago that we were briefly taught on the topic of solar geometry.
No wonder I didn’t feel too hot during my stroll around campus yesterday. And today, I actually survived an afternoon at home without AC! I sure am waiting eagerly for the coming of winter, the time when I don’t have to rely on AC to sleep well at night…
It was cloudy and wasn’t too hot today. There were about 5 hours in between 2 workshop safety sessions, so I took a leisurely stroll around the campus. The walk was quite refreshing, I really like the extensive greenery all over the campus.
We were taught on some of the basic principles in designing windows to utilize natural skylight. 
With ever increasing density and height of buildings, it’s becoming ever more rare to have a window inside a building that can see the sky in HK. I feel very thankful to have this un-obstructive view of the sky and landscape from my bed.
Meanwhile, I also feel very undeserving to have such a luxurious view. Like my Prof. said, poor and/or old people should deserve better living space, because they cannot move around as well and spend much of their time at home. Rich people can go to Switzerland! If the opportunity arises later, I wish to design for the poor rather than the rich, or maybe I can charge the rich and donate to the poor!
After numerous visits to my favorite furniture store, I’m now almost complete in setting up my study area. 
It’s relatively small compared to my lair in Toronto, but it’s quite cozy and quiet, and allows me to concentrate quite well (provided that my curious nephews don’t come up to disturb me). I’ve spent most of my afternoon doing some pre-course reading here, and I actually finished reading an entire chapter (~50 pages)! Unfortunately, it was later reported that the start of the course will be postponed due to illness of the visiting Prof. I had to switch to the reading for another course.
Still missing in the study area are an office chair and a soccer ball to keep me entertained…
The programme I enrolled in had the first briefing session this morning. Our department head introduced the programme in a casual, friendly, and pleasantly humorous manner. The briefing actually uplifted my spirit and made me look forward to our first lecture on Saturday.
There are only about 13 students joining the programme this year. We only briefly introduced ourselves, but I’m sure I’ll get to know them more in the coming 1-2 years…
For the last 2 days, I attended a 1.5-day orientation session for postgraduates at CUHK. There were 2 things that crossed my mind – I felt old and I felt like I had traveled to Mainland China. I felt old because I think I’m one of the older ones in the group, and I felt like I was in Mainland because I heard more Mandarin than Cantonese and I saw more Simplified than Traditional Chinese.
Apart from that, a question from one of the orientation speakers got stuck in my head – what do I want to get out of my short stay at the university? Hopefully, I’ll have that figured out before I graduate in 2 years.
As I grew older, I started to hate traveling on the plane, especially for long flights. I can’t sleep well on the plane and I can’t quite bear the smell/taste of airplane food (cup noodle is an exception).
My flight back to HK this time was not as weary as I anticipated. Although I still didn’t sleep or eat too well, I had a roomy seat and I didn’t have to worry about waking my neighbors on my occasional walk down the aisle. The 2 seats next to me were not occupied!
In less than 3 hours, I’ll be heading to the airport saying farewell to a country I’ve spent more than half my life in…
I’m leaving this place with an anxious mind, but at the same time with a heart full of thankfulness. I’m thankful that God had blessed me with such wonderful friends here in Canada – friends to share my ups and downs and to lend a helping hand whenever I’m in need. Thank you God.
I had the farewell dinner with my church b/s tonight. I truly feel blessed that God allowed me to be surrounded by such wonderful people every week. The truth is, I’ll probably miss them as much as they’ll miss me…
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
© 2023 Tony Law's Website. All Rights Reserved.
